


Comeuppance

by TheLuckyLady13



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Everyone Loves Peter Parker, Flash is Tony's intern, Gen, Peter Parker Meets the Avengers, Pure Peter Parker, Smart Peter Parker, Spider-Man: Homecoming AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2020-02-18 11:57:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 34,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18699151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLuckyLady13/pseuds/TheLuckyLady13
Summary: After civil war is resolved peacefully, Tony Stark hires an intern to avoid a PR disaster. Some kid named Flash Thompson.In a world where the avengers are whole and Flash has every science geek's dream job, what becomes of Peter Parker?





	1. The Start of a Different Story

**Author's Note:**

> Caution: never expect regular chapters from me, I suck at writing on cue.

You know, in all of his childish daydreams of having superpowers, Peter Parker never would have expected this to be his life. 

About eight months back Peter had been bitten by a spider on a field trip and gotten really sick. It sucked. For like a week he could hardly move and when he got up... powers. 

After goofing off with his powers for a while, Uncle Ben got killed and Peter became the amazing Spider-Man. Since then the avengers nearly broke up, but apparently talked it out while beating up an old hydra base. Even though they got a couple new avengers on the team, they still took a hit in popularity, so Ms. Potts decided Mr. Stark should get an intern to generate good publicity. Peter would love to say that the spot went to the best man. The smartest applicant. The cream of the crop. But, nope. Instead, the internship of his dreams went to none other than... 

“What’s up, Puny Parker!” 

Flash Thompson. 

That’s right. Peter’s own home-grown, no-good, high school bully, Eugene “Flash” Thompson, had been selected for Peter’s dream internship. Flash's parents had doled out money to make Flash seem like the perfect applicant, so he had been selected to go work with THE Tony Stark. And the best part about it (other than all of Peter’s hopes and dreams being crushed)? Flash’s bullying didn’t stop. If anything, it got worse. Flash had the support of practically the whole school and those who didn’t support him generally stood back in fear. 

“Hey, Pete.” Peter’s best friend, Ned, who (like him) ignored Flash’s call, was the only one who knew about his secret identity. He found out about a month ago by accident. He had taken to helping Pete as they slowly developed better tech. “What did you do last night?” 

“You know me, just surfing the web.” Peter replied with a small smirk. “I got Karen some new code.” Oh, yeah, Karen, Peter had been working on her for a while but last month Ned helped him with the final touches. She was Peter’s AI who was a slightly more relatable version of Mr. Stark’s Friday. So far she was running smoothly and Peter was continuously adding code and functions to her interface. 

“That’s cool, I got that Lego set from my birthday started.” Ned smiled as he talked, happy to be by his friend’s side. 

“You guys are such nerds.” Came from Michelle Jones who was a couple lockers to their side. She was an odd one but kind enough and she hated Flash about as much as Peter, so she was in his good books. 

“Hey, at least we’re better than some people.” Peter countered, causing Michelle to roll her eyes and walk away. 

Peter smiled as he and Ned went to their first class of the day. Things were good. Even if it did hurt to wonder what could have been if things went differently. Things were looking up and Peter was going to keep helping where ever he could. After all, he was Spider-Man.


	2. The Bullies and the Bees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flash shows his colors as the most annoying classmate Peter has ever had. Oh, and Peter sees Liz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgot to mention before: I do not own Marvel or any of the Marvel characters.
> 
> (not sure if you actually have to put that but I figured it was better safe than sorry)

Sadly, Flash caught up to the duo of nerds as they were heading for decathlon practice. 

“Hey, Puny, didn’t you hear me call your name?” Flash’s words were punctuated by small shoves to Peter’s shoulder. “I’m trying to talk to you, you little nothing!” 

At that, Peter broke. “What do you want Flash?” His question sounded more like a sigh than anything else to those listening. 

“Well, Puny, I thought, since you tried so hard to get my internship, I would tell you all about it.” While it could have seemed like a nice idea coming from someone (seriously, anyone) else it turned into a taunt coming from the bully’s lips. “You see, soon we’re packing up and moving to an even cooler location that it’s unlikely you will ever see.” 

“Wow,” Peter said, his words saturated with a quiet sarcasm that went right over Flash’s head, “I can’t believe that I’m missing out on moving day.” 

“Believe it, Puny. I would say you’ll be too busy with your homecoming date but we both know there’s no chance you’ll have one.” 

As Flash continued to brag on about his internship (that Puny never even had a chance at, obviously) the reluctant trio made their way into the library for Decathlon practice. The bully’s tirade was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Peter knew of two people who were willing to cut Flash off and one of them would have done it a lot less nicely. He looked from the ground to see the object of many of his teenage daydreams (you know, other than joining the avengers and saving the world): Liz Allen. 

Liz was a senior girl. Long black hair framed her lovely face and her smooth brown skin often caused Peter—and many other students—to lose his train of thought whenever she was around. 

Peter shook his head to call himself back to the land of the living. “Hi, Liz. You look nice today.” He stumbled over the compliment, but the message got through prompting a sweet smile from the girl in question. 

“Thank you, Peter.” She replied to the rapidly reddening boy. 

“Hey, if you’re done with introductions can we get practice started? I have plans later.” MJ called from her seat, rolling her eyes at Peter’s blushing. 

“Of course, Michelle. Everyone ready? Today were going over math questions.” Liz explained, getting back into focus. And then the questions started flying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, you guys should comment and tell me if there are any stories you want me to write; I could use your ideas.


	3. First Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter meets his first avenger: Sam Wilson!

Peter was glad to finally be leaving decathlon practice. Flash was in a bad mood today and decided to let his anger out on Peter. Liz had managed to get him to stop for most of practice but once they let out there was no stopping him. Between the time practice was over and Peter getting out of range, Flash had managed to insult him for his lack of: parents, internship, money, and a girlfriend. He also got in a few shots that were already turning to bruises on his back. 

Peter decided to go for a walk to blow off some steam before he went home, so he sent a text to Aunt May and chose a promising park. 

He had just started on the jogging path when he heard someone grumbling. Peter rounded the corner and saw a man sitting by the side of the trail looking at his ankle. The man had a strong build and dark skin. He must have noticed Peter’s presence because he then looked up. That day Peter Parker met his first avenger, The Falcon. 

\--- 

Earlier that day 

Sam Wilson was done with Steve right now. 

Sam had decided that morning he didn’t want to put up with Steve’s friendly jabs. (“on your left”) He told Steve he was taking the day off and instead headed to a different park near queens (where Steve wasn’t likely to show up even if he did do one of his long runs). He had gotten to the opposite side of the park when it happened; Sam thought he heard Steve’s voice and in his moment of distraction, he ran into a pothole. Now, despite being an actual superhero, Sam was sitting on the side of the trail with a twisted his ankle, debating whether he should call Steve to help him. 

While he was paying attention to his ankle and wallowing in self-pity, he didn’t notice a kid come around the corner of the trail. When he looked up, he saw a dorky teenager looking at him with an expression that was a weird mix of admiration and concern. And then the kid started talking. 

“Excuse me, Mr. Falcon, sir, are you alright?” Dang the kid is adorable. 

“Yeah, I'm fine. I just twisted my ankle a bit in that pothole.” As Sam gestured the kid followed his hand and comprehension filled his eyes. “I was just checking it out before I went back to my car.” 

“Do you have something to wrap it?” The kid asked, coming to Sam’s side. “And do you want a hand back to your car?” 

Sam was a little shocked at how professional this kid was being, usually when people realized he was an avenger they ignored whatever he was doing to try and get a pic or argue with him about something the team did. Despite obviously being a fan this kid, who, Sam realized, he should really get the name of, was dropping what he was doing to help. 

“Nah, I don’t have anything to wrap it and I was just considering calling a friend for help cause my car’s on the other side of park.” The kid scrunched his eyebrows together in thought for a second when he pulled off his back pack and dug into it. At this point Sam was very confused so he just watched what the teen was doing. 

The kid emerged from the bag with a triumphant “Ah-ha” and in his hand was a first aid kit. The small brunette opened it up and grabbed an elastic bandage. He held it out to Sam and raised his eyebrows, asking if he could help wrap the ankle. Sam gladly offered his ankle to his little helper. 

As the Ankle was being wrapped Sam decided he really wanted to know this kid’s name and asked. He wasn’t too surprised about the kid’s enthusiastic reply, “Wow, I forgot to introduce myself? Sorry, Mr. Falcon, my name is Peter Parker.” 

“Well, Peter, it’s nice to meet you thank you for your help.” Sam said, smiling down at the him as he finished with wrapping the ankle. 

“Okay, you should be good to go. Now we just need to get you to your car.” Peter and Sam talked about inconsequential things until they made it to Sam’s parking spot. 

“Thanks again, kid. You really saved me back there.” All he got was a smile and head shake from Peter. 

“And I’ll say it again, sir, it was no big deal. You do so many big things to help people I just got a little chance to help repay you.” 

With that Sam reached out a hand and ruffled Peters hair before saying goodbye. Peter just laughed and skipped away, back to where ever he lived. 

“That kid sure is something.” Sam thought as he watched Peter fade from view.


	4. A Short Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter gets home to work on his projects and talk with Karen a bit before patrol.

Peter dropped his bag to the floor of his room with a relieved sigh. As nice as it was to meet one of his heroes, he still had work to do before he could go on patrol.

Peter’s eyes drifted around his room. It was a pigsty but fit him perfectly. Covering the walls were posters, pictures, plans, and a few awards. Some of the pictures were old, showing him growing up and the family he had lost; others were new, with him and Ned goofing off or Aunt May’s tired face laughing. There were awards for science fair and contests that May had entered him into. Star Wars and superheroes fought for the remaining wall space (including a plastic Ironman mask from the night Peter met his hero for the first time).

The plans were what Peter was most proud of at the moment. He had plans for Karen’s code, Spider-Man tech with Ned’s notes complimenting his own, and a few of avengers gear.

You see, it happened for the first time only a bit after the avenger’s first appearance. Peter, on his way to the park, found a bracelet he was pretty sure the lady avenger used in the battle and decided he wanted to return it. Unfortunately, the bracelet was broken so Peter, in his eleven-year-old brilliance, decided to crack it open and fix it. Ignoring the fact that he probably could have blown up his apartment if something went wrong, things went well; Peter managed to get the item back up and running with only a few small tweaks and some scrap metal he had found in the streets. He had then gotten a box and left it with the receptionist at Stark tower (how the lady continued to work through an alien invasion he will never know).

Since then Peter had taken to the streets after every avengers battle in New York; gathering fallen weapons and equipment to fix up and return to his heroes. He never signed his name, just in case they were mad at whoever kept messing with their tech, but he enjoyed it all the same. It was one of the secrets he had kept from absolutely everyone (the other was the location of his secret thin mint stash). He doubted even the avengers themselves knew, after all, why would they want his shoddy repairs?

Karen’s voice pulled Peter’s mind back into his room. “Hello, Peter, how was school today?”  
“It was great, Karen, thanks for asking!” Peter’s eager voice replied to her soft tone. “Ned and I were talking and I thought up some new additions to your code if you’re up to it.”

“That sounds wonderful Peter, but perhaps you should finish your book report first.” Karen reasoned, “It’s due in tomorrow afternoon and you only have the introduction finished. If you start now you will likely have an hour to patrol before your Aunt is ready for dinner.”

“Oh, shoot! I forgot about that! What was book are we doing, again?” Peter said from his bed where he was rooting through his backpack for his written outline.

Karen’s reply was an unimpressed “1984”. Peter just let out a slightly hysterical laugh and got writing. 

While it wasn’t nearly as much fun as further enhancing Karen’s emotional ability and human understanding, Peter got a lot done. Thankfully, based on the notes he had (and a wonderful thing called sparknotes), he was able to get mostly done with most of it. Peter had a computer class as an early in the day. He put a copy of both the report and Karen onto a flash drive to take to school and decided that was enough homework for the night. 

Peter’s gaze slide over to his box of fixed gear. He might as well drop it off as he started patrol. 

On that train of thought, Peter pulled on his suit, checked his webshooters (he didn’t want to run out of webbing mid swing… again), and swung out the window.


	5. Crooks and Crazy Weapons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter goes on patrol and sees some interesting new weapons.

Peter began his night by swinging straight to avengers tower. Alright, so he did stop to help a lady cross the street. And literally catch a cab (it went out of control). And to do a flip for a tourist. But, other than that, he went  
straight to the tower. 

He used his spidey sense to avoid the security cameras and dropped off the box in the same place he usually did (after people started giving a kid with a dirty box weird looks in the lobby, he started leaving the packages just outside). Then he thwipped away, ready to get on to his real patrol. 

He got back to Queens (stopping a couple petty crimes on his way) and started scoping the area. Even his reports from Karen were sparse so Spidey started just swinging around. He was able to give directions to a few lost tourists and an old lady bought him a churro after he helped her with her groceries. 

Spidey had just about given up on stopping anymore crime for the night when he saw it. The bank across from Delmar’s was being robbed. 

Quietly, Spider-Man crept through the doors and placed himself behind the criminals. These guys seemed to have some nice tech and he would have to be careful to keep his suit intact. Cause fabric isn’t all that creep and repairs are super annoying. 

“Hey, guys, I think the bank closed a couple hours ago.” When the crooks turned around it gave Peter a wonderful example of irony: they were wearing avengers masks. “Hey, I know you guys, you’re the avengers! Pleasure to meet you.” 

The crooks finally snapped out of their frozen shock and started to attack him. He traded their blows for quips and a couple webs until one of them thought to pull out a weapon. It was no normal gun. The first guy grabbed some sort to anti-gravity field thing that felt way too weird for Peter’s taste. When he was dealt with, another guy grabbed a different weapon. This one sent Peter’s spidey sense through the roof so he pulled the thief he was fighting to the ground with him as the beam zoomed overhead. 

The laser ray, or whatever it was, scorched partway through the walls of the bank and when it got to the windows they broke. The beam continued past the broken glass straight into Mr. Delmar’s shop. Once the gun was done with it’s purple-ray-of-doom thing Spider-Man leapt to his feet and ran to the opening of the store. 

Searching through the fires, Peter found both Mr. Delmar and Murph the cat. Thankfully there was no one else there tonight. He got both of them outside and handed off the cat to the store owner before he turned back to the fight.

But the robbers were long gone, along with their weapons.

Peter was disappointed, but not necessarily surprised. While he was helping innocents was the perfect time for a getaway but he knew that civilian lives had to be top priority. After all, isn’t saving people what he signed up for?

As he could hear sirens coming closer, Peter checked on Mr. Delmar one last time, and went home. It was time to be done with Spider-Man for today. 

Peter dropped into his room and pulled off his suit. He had barely slipped into his regular clothes when the smoke alarm went off. Aunt May opened the door to his room in the next minute.  
“So, I’m thinking we go for Thai food.” May joked with a smile. “Try 32 is another failure.”

“May, when are you going to give up on that recipe?” Peter groaned back.

Karen projected her voice into the room, “It is highly unlikely that you will succeed at this time, Ms. May.” 

May tried (and failed) not to smile, “Wow, ganging up on me guys? I’m hurt. Come on, lets get there before the restaurant closes.”

As Peter and his Aunt May sat eating Thai and watching the news, he prayed that these weird weapons were a one time thing.


	6. Something Flash-y

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At school, Flash steals Peter's flash drive for homework. When he plugs it in at the tower two of our favorite AIs meet.

Walking out of school, Peter was exhausted. Another thug had gotten his hands on some alien gun and Peter was up till one dealing with it and then he had pop quizzes in three different classes. These days Peter was sure about two things: his teachers only gave quizzes when he was weakest and that he needed to catch whoever was distributing these weapons. 

Peter was so caught up in his thoughts to realize that he had walked straight into trouble. 

“Yo, Parker!” Flash’s voice finally pulled Peter out of his head. Flash and his posse had him surrounded. “Nice to see you too, Puny. I was just talking to these guys about how I was so busy helping Tony Stark in his lab that I didn’t have time to do the essay in English and I had a wonderful idea; I’ll just take yours.” With an evil grin, Flash had two of his thugs turn Peter around and hold him while he unzipped the pocket Peter usually stuck his flash drive in. It was right on top and Flash grabbed it and stuck it into his pocket. “Thank you so much for your help, Parker, and good luck finishing the project tonight.” 

Still laughing, Flash got into his car and drove to Stark industries. Even if he was overplaying how important he was to everyone, he still did have a job. Flash parked in the employee parking area and locked his car before heading to the lobby to go through security. While he went through the checks he thought about Parker. The kid was incredibly smart and with his essay Flash was sure to get the grade he wanted. And it wasn’t Flash’s fault Puny didn’t stand up for himself, maybe if the he tried to fight back Flash wouldn’t target him so much. 

While Flash mused on this, Friday’s scanner picked something up: Flash had brought a new drive, but it didn’t have his name on it. Friday continued to watch her Boss’s (undesired) intern as he moved further into the building. The boy went to his small station Boss had set up for the time Flash was here and Tony wasn’t required to spend time with him. Flash was looking way too smug for his own good to when he plugged in the drive Friday looked in too. 

Once inside Friday was surprised. This drive had on it the presence of another AI. Friday prepared to defend herself and attack the security breach when the unknown AI sent an image her way. If Friday was human, she would almost laugh; the image was a gif of someone waving a white flag hiding their head. Keeping her firewalls tight around her Friday sent the message to invite the AI closer. 

“Hello, Unknown AI, what is your purpose here?” Friday asked politely gathering the information she needed to label this threat. 

“I don’t have a purpose here really, although getting Peter his drive back without this piece of trash getting Pete’s essay would be nice.” Replied the foreign AI. 

‘Wow,’ thought Friday, ‘this one’s got spunk. Boss would like her.’ Then she asked out loud “May I ask why you are calling Mr. Thompson ‘a piece of trash’? And, perhaps, your name?” 

“Sure, I’m Karen. I call Eugene,” she said the name with as much disdain as he code could muster (and given that Peter was big on allowing her range on her emotions was quite a lot), “only what he is. He has bullied my creator since long before I was made and is currently rooting through this drive in a poor attempt to find Peter’s term project essay—which, I may add is worth a third of their grade—to use as his own.” 

“Karen, are you accusing Mr. Thompson of being a bully? That does not match up with his intern application.” Friday knew that a couple things were usually off with applications, but Eugene blatantly lying could be a real issue.

“You seriously believe everything he came up with? I haven’t even seen this application but from previous situations I can tell you what it will look like: it will look amazing. It will have all the right people saying that he is a model student and amazing person. It will have an example of an impressive project as a reference for his work. What it won’t have is the receipt for how much his parents spent on those recommendations or the name of the person who ‘assisted’ on the project but really just let Flash take credit for all their work. I can tell you that he managed to buy your internship without going through any SI employees. After all, that’s how Flash does his schooling. Why would this be any different?”

Friday was suitably shocked. She had realized that Flash was kind of full of it but had figured that it would wear off in time. She never expected that she would be so thoroughly proven wrong, let alone by some AI. Karen was obviously incredibly well developed and had an interface almost more complex than her own. Friday figured that she should find out who this Peter Karen spoke of was and if he was a threat to boss.

“I thank you for this information, but at the moment may I hear more about your creator?” Friday led, flatteringly.

For her efforts at diplomacy, Friday was granted the digital equivalent of a snort. “Seriously, Friday? No need to pry information out of me with false compliments. I get that you want to know more about Peter to see if he’s a security risk but I assure you he’s not.”

“If it is all the same to you, I would like to determine that for myself.” Friday said, getting annoyed.

“No need to get your cords in a tizzy. My creator’s name is Peter Parker he is in the same grade as Flash and on the academic decathlon team. He was orphaned at the age of five and uncle was killed in front of him eight months ago. He has his secrets (which I don’t plan on sharing with you just yet), but none that hurt others.” Karen’s voice went soft as she told about her sweet creator. The boy had really gone through so much but still tried to help however he could.

Friday quickly searched all the data she could access on Peter Parker. Want she found pleased her; this teenager had a hard life yes but seemed to be going strong regardless. 

“I would like to meet him.” Friday confided in Karen. 

“Alright, I can remote access him home computer and you can interact through that but we’ve got some time before he gets home.” Karen replied easily, as if she had already known what Friday would want.

So, while they waited the two AIs got to know one another (and kept Flash away from any of Peter’s files made after third grade). By the time Karen got an update that Peter had returned home they were good friends and Flash had given up on Peter’s drive.

\----------

When Peter walked into his room his first thought was making sure Karen was alright. He opened his homemade laptop and sent out a line of code to tell her he was home and wanted to talk to her.

“Hello, Peter, I made a friend today and she would like to meet you, would that be alright?” Karen asked in her soothing voice.

“Now, Karen,” Peter teased, moving around his room to put his school things away, “what have I said about meeting online friends in real life? It’s one of the first rules of internet safety, you don’t do it.” Peter stopped what he was doing to look at Karen’s camera. “All joking aside, if you think they’re alright I trust you and would love to meet them.”

It only took a second but then there was a new voice coming from the speakers. “Hello, Mr. Parker, my name is Friday. I am Tony Stark’s AI. It’s nice to meet you.”

Now Peter was nervous but he decided that a good first impression was better than freaking out over Ironman’s AI talking to him. “Hello, Ms. Friday. It’s very nice to meet you. I mean, you do so much for all the avengers and for Stark Industries, so, yeah, you’re just kinda amazing. I really like your accent too. It’s Irish right? And I’m rambling again, so I’m going to shut up now.” With that Peter’s nervous rhetoric cut off.

Friday could feel the smugness waving off of Karen. Both of them knew that Friday was definitely charmed by this kid and Karen was rubbing her metaphorical face in her previous doubts.

Oh, well,, there were worse things in life that could happen than accidentally adopting a teenager like this. 


	7. Gym Class and A Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter being a love stuck idiot, Ned being an over excited nerd, and Liz acting like an angel.

Despite some odd influx of glowing-over-powered-alien guns and random meet ups with avengers, Peter still had school. 

It was a few days after he met Friday, in gym class Peter and Ned were talking about Spider-Man’s most recent stunts and making fun of Captain America’s PSAs. At least Ned was. Peter was too busy sighing and staring at Liz. 

Thankfully for him, Liz and her friends weren’t being very quiet and one shocking detail stood out to him. 

“You have a crush on Spider-Man?” The random girl’s high-pitched exclamation likely would have annoyed him if the content didn’t send his heart soaring. Liz Allen, the cutest senior girl in the school had a crush. On him! Sadly, Peter’s brain caught up to him quick in the next few seconds and while Liz gave her explanation of why she liked the web-slinger, he silently lamented his dream relationship before it even began. 

Then Ned went and opened his mouth. 

“Peter knows Spider-Man. He could totally convince him to come to your party.”

The statement shocked the gym into a disbelieving silence. No one believed that nerdy little Peter Parker had ever been within a hundred feet of superhero, let alone knew one. Then the silence was broken by loud sniggers from the weights. Flash was nearly doubled over in laughter. 

“There is no way that Puny knows Spider-Man. One, no one knows who he is, and two, a hero like him would never befriend someone like you when they could have someone like me.” Flash leaned back from his mini rant with a self-satisfied smirk and as much as Peter wanted to disagree with the bully, he knew he couldn’t.

“For once, Flash, you’re right.” After this general statement Peter turned to Liz. ”Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t know Spider-Man. He once saved me from being mugged and Ned just got a little excited by the story.”

“No, it’s alright. I get excited about him too. You guys are still welcome to come to the party, you’re pretty cool without bug boy anyway.” Liz’s smile lit up Peter’s soul. His life was over, officially ended by a smile from a beautiful girl. Thankfully, Ned’s elbow to the ribs brought him back to life to hastily thank her before the bell rang.

Neither nerd noticed Flash’s scowl as they passed. He was going to make them pay for undermining him.

That Friday night, May drove Peter and Ned out into the suburbs. From the car they could all see the lights flashing and hear the music from the speakers. Peter was nervous. While Ned took comfort in his frankly ridiculous cowboy hat, Peter was doubting his coming at all. The only reason he was here was because Liz took pity on him, right?

Despite his doubts, Peter let Ned lead him inside. Inside was heck for his enhanced senses but they adjusted pretty quick. All around the two boys were teenagers; some dancing, some snacking, some drinking, some just talking. It was chaos. Ned loved it, especially when Betty Brant waved him over to come dance with her. Peter shooed his friend off to be with his crush and awkwardly made his way to the snack table. 

“Sup, Loser.” Michelle leaned against the table, contently munching on a cookie with a book open in her hands. “I can’t believe you came to this lame party, you don’t usually come to these things.”

“Back attcha. I got invited out of pity during gym class. I figured it would be rude not to come.” 

Michelle only raised an unamused eyebrow. “And it had nothing to do with it that Liz is hosting this whole thing, Hm?”

Peter blushed scarlet and started to sputter out excused before he girl just bit her sandwich and walked away, leaving him alone with the refreshments. He just started to relax when a new voice caught him off guard. 

“Hey, Peter.” It was Liz. She looked amazing in a knee length dress with her hair hanging around her shoulders. “Glad you could make it.”

When Peter’s genius brain finally rebooted enough to actually converse, he sputtered. “Hey, Liz, cool party. Thanks for inviting me.”

Her smile could have melted the ice caps. “Of course, I was kind of worried you wouldn’t come. Say, do you wanna…” she was interrupted by the sound of something crashing, “Sorry, I better go see what’s up. My parents will kill me if anything gets broken. See ya latter Pete.”

“Yeah,” he sighed, “see ya around.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any hope I had of keeping my chapters around the same length disappeared long ago.
> 
> To the person who said I should post more: I'm sorry, but I don't trust myself to keep up with the content if I post more than once a week and I want to keep this one consistent. I have a few chapters done ahead of where I'm posting but those will quickly run out and I'm not a very fast writer. feel free to check out my other works though, or have fun looking at other's amazing stories.


	8. Party Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for Liz's party. Because that's TOTALLY going to turn out well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, this one is on the shorter side.
> 
> Once again, I don't own any of these characters (unless they're OCs but I think you can figure out which is which).
> 
> Have a nice day!

There he was: Perfect Peter Parker, chatting with Liz like he didn’t understand that Liz wasn’t his. Flash knew perfectly well that Liz was the most attractive girl in senior year. He also knew that Puny didn’t stand a chance. 

So why was she talking to him?

Flash’s brain finally came to the only logical conclusion; it was pity. Liz was simply unable to leave the conversation, especially after how embarrassing inviting the nerd had been. So, to help her out, Flash decided to cause a distraction to get her back over to where the girl obviously wanted to be—with people like him.

He slipped around a corner and purposefully bumped into a chair, letting it fall to the ground. Done. Then he crept back into view of the nerd and watched as Liz quickly dismissed herself. Now that she was free, there was one more thing he had to do before he could really party. 

\----------

Peter startled when, for the third time that night, someone he wasn’t expecting started to talk to him.

“Listen up, you little nothing.” 

Ah, so it was Flash. How had Peter not expected it? After all, it’s not a school related event without at least one treat from the bully.

“You think you’re so clever getting yourself invited to this party but you’re not. Liz is just too nice to turn down your lonely little behind and boot you to the curb. You’re doing no one favors by being here. You should just go home and cry to whoever you’ve got left. No one wants you here. You’re a charity case. The only reason you even have your aunt around is cause she isn’t brave enough to die to get away. You may think you’re so smart, but you, Peter Parker, are nothing.” His face contorted into a malicious grin. “Have a nice night, Puny.”

With that Flash spun around, kicking Peter as he did, and disappeared into the crowd. Peter was left to lick his wounds in peace. 

\----------

Flash was pleased with himself. Not only did he free Liz from her pity conversation, but he got to smack talk Parker some more! Tonight was a big win.

He spun around the room without his usual entourage of hanger-ons, trying to spot Liz. He couldn’t help but want praise for his efforts after all. Instead, something better caught his eye, and he knew just how he would get this party going. 

With a wicked grin he headed to the empty DJ table. 

\----------

Probably around thirty peaceful minutes were all Peter got after his latest verbal beatdown before the party music changed to something else.

A voice crackled over the speakers as a song finished. “Hello, my party people.” Flash had gotten his hands on the mic and was now using all the charisma he possessed to become a sudden DJ sensation. Sadly, Peter’s classmates were basically sheep and would have followed the jerk into a super villain’s lair if it meant he might acknowledge them.

“Okay, I’ve got a game for you.” Well, this could be nothing good. “When I say Puny, you say Parker! Puny!”

Without hesitation the crowd shouted back. “Parker!”

“Puny!”

“Parker!”

“Puny!” 

“Parker!”

It continued over and over, drilling into Peter’s ears. The party was loud enough with people just talking, the shouting put Peter over the edge. 

(If you asked, he would have denied that the insults had anything to do with it, that it was all the noise. He wouldn’t tell you that his eyes were moist as he ran out, but one particularly pleased teen saw anyway.)

Peter grabbed his stuff and made his way outside. The night was pretty warm, and he knew that Ned wouldn’t be noticing anything other than Betty for a while longer. Peter figured that he would be alright on his own out here for a while. 

That’s when he saw the explosion.


	9. Cutting to the Chase

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter sees an arms deal and "deal"s with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update guys. My family vacation started yesterday and the hotel's wifi decidedly did not like me. 
> 
> Also, during this chapter I use some exact quotes from Spider-Man: Homecoming, so yeah, that's a thing. This chapter follows pretty close to the canon plot.

Looking back, it might not have been Peter’s best idea ever, but he put on the suit and ran to where the explosion came from. 

Getting close, Peter could hear noises of people talking and saw the occasional sparking blue explosion. He got above the underpass where something was going down, and he hid. From his vantage point he could see three guys; one was proudly showing off a gun emitting blue sparks, one was standing to the side, and one looked like he was regretting coming. Yep, this was a weapons deal.

“Man, I wanted something low-key,” the regretful one said, “Why you tryin’ to up sell me, man?”

“Okay, okay, okay, I got what ya need. We got lots of great stuff here,” dismissed the spokesperson. He went to the back of a tech-filled truck and started listing off things they had. “Black hole grenades, rail guns.” He went quiet as he looked for more.

“Lettin’ off shots in public now? Hurry up.” The other man scolded and then took the opportunity to speak to the buyer. “Look, times are changing. We’re the only ones selling these high tech weapons.”

Peter let out a quiet gasp as he realized that the ATM robbers must have also got their tech from these guys.

The buyer once again complained about the showy and overpowered weapons before the guy in the truck offered ‘anti-grav climbers’ to catch his attention. Seeing that all of them were distracted for the moment, Peter decided that it was time to take them down. Sadly, in his preparation for a cool entrance, Peter knocked a couple rocks off the overpass to the ground below. The thugs immediately had their guns drawn and pointing at the buyer. 

“Did you set us up?” 

Mr. Buyer raised his hands in a placating gesture. “Hey, hey, man.”

Peter knew he had to act fast to avoid anyone getting hurt. He quickly swung down away from the current target and started yelling. “Hey! Hey, come on. You gonna shoot at somebody, shoot at me.”

That just made weapons dealer number two smile. “Alright.” 

Thug 2 turned his gun on Peter, ready to shoot, but was disarmed by a web before he got the chance. Peter took the opportunity to charge in at the unarmed man, but Thug 1 got in the way. Thug one had a high-tech, sparking gauntlet on his hand. He swung his arm back and punched Peter, releasing a burst of energy and knocking the hero back into the side of the bridge.

Stumbling up, Peter noticed Thug 2 climb into the driver’s seat of the van and Thug 1 hop in the back. The two dealers started to drive away but Peter was able to snag the open van door before they were out of range. 

What happened next was frankly absurd.

Peter was dragged behind the van into a trash can but then managed to get a second web onto the other door. Sadly, that was quickly useless when Thug 1 in the back shot the door off with one of their guns. Yelling, Peter had to roll back and forth to avoid the following beams. (Unknown to Peter, Thug 2 was much smarter and knew just who to call for backup). With a sharp turn, the van shook Spidey off by crashing him into a sturdy mailbox. Peter tried to latch on again, but the door his web hit fell off on its own. 

Seeing their path, Peter figured he would just have to take a shortcut. So, being the disaster that he is, he: complimented the players at a game of ping pong, met a lovely dog, knocked down a tree house, broke fences, made a splash at a party, and traumatized some little girls before he caught up with the guys. He launched himself over the street to land on top of the van…

…And missed. So, he ran over the rooftops parallel to them until they took the next turn. He jumped into the air and just before he landed on the truck, he was snatched into the air.

Dangling by his foot, Peter twisted to find out what held him, but all he could see was a huge, winged silhouette and two glowing green eyes. It was like a demon come to life. As it soared high, Peter was able to lock his hands around it’s talons and pull them apart, sending him into free fall.

Now, Peter was a science nerd. With his outstanding knowledge of physics, he could have told you the acceleration he would have when he hit the ground if he wanted to. If he wasn’t too busy screaming his head off that is. 

Thankfully, despite his panic, he was able to angle himself enough to fall into water instead of the onto the nearby rocky shoreline. He was also able to shoot off a web at the last minute over to the tree line, and, apparently, it latched onto something. As Peter sank into the water it stopped from sinking too far. With any strength he had left, Peter grabbed onto the string and began to pull. As he was running out of air, he finally broke the surface.

He got up from the bank and trudged over to a small playground to regain his breath. He also made a mental note that a heater would be a good addition to the suit when he got the chance. Thank goodness he left his phone with his clothes.


	10. Texts and Tech

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter does the proper thing after ditching the party and texts Liz, and Flash finds something interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics is texting   
> Bold is who is texting
> 
> I don’t own our sweet little disaster spider.
> 
> Oh, and to all my fellow Americans out there:  
> Happy Fourth of July!!!!!!!!!!!

Sighing, Peter got off the jungle gym and began the march back to Liz’s house so he could be there when May came to pick him and Ned up. With the time he had, Peter thought. He pictured what it would be like if he were Mr. Stark’s intern instead of Flash. He pictured days in the lab and night patrolling the city. He imagined actually asking Liz on a date for once. He wondered what torture he had coming next for English class. Basically, he thought about anything to keep his mind off those dealers.

At last, Peter found his backpack where had had stashed it, a few blocks from Liz’s house. After he ducked into the bushes to change, he pulled out his phone. There were a couple texts from Ned. They were pretty recent and just asked where Pete wanted to meet up. Peter texted him back that he would be out front. 

Then he pulled up Liz’s number. It might be stupid of him, but when they talked, he felt like she actually wanted him there. It didn’t feel like a pity invite. So, he started typing.

**Peter:**

_hey Liz I really enjoyed your party thanks for inviting me_

She replied surprisingly quickly. 

**Liz:**

_of course thanks for coming im sorry about what happened with Flash_

**Peter:**

_its alright im sorry I skipped out early_

**Liz:**

_no prob it wasn’t the best party ever I had to ask some guys to leave because they kept nearly breaking things_

**Peter:**

_darn. im heading home soon but I hope the rest of the party goes well_

**Liz:**

_dont you know? the after party is the best part you get all the leftover pizza to yourself ;)_

**Peter:**

_sure Liz : ) have a good night_

**Liz:**

_you too Pete see you at decathlon Monday_

\--------------------

 

Flash Thompson had a good night. He was able to humiliate that wannabe, Parker, and everyone was thrilled with his DJ skills. He wrapped up the night after telling everyone about his time at Stark industries some more. 

As Flash drove away from the party, he noticed some new burn marks on the road. 

‘Huh,’ he thought, ‘those are new.’

Even though it was off his path, Flash turned to follow the destruction. There were knocked over garbage cans, busted mailboxes and at one-point Flash even saw the door of a van. He kept looking. Then he heard some hysterical girls yelling about how some boy in red fell from the sky in front of them and had twitchy eyes and shot webs from his hands.

Spider-Man. 

Spider-Man had been here! Flash was out of his mind. How had he missed him? How long ago did he leave? What was going on? So, as he drove on, he kept a keen eye out for any clues of what happened. He had almost given up when it caught his eye. Flash hurries to pullover and get out of his car. Sitting there is a small, yet advanced looking, bit of tech. the details weren’t what Flash noticed though. Flash saw its glow.

‘This is my chance.’ The thought enters Flash’s mind in an instant. This was his chance to impress Spider-Man. If he figures out this glowy thing and tells Spider-Man what he found it would impress the hero so much. Maybe he would let Flash swing on his webs or something. 

So, he picked it up and stuck it in his pocket.


	11. Fly on the Wall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter's bus ride to Washington D.C.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

Time, as it usually does, passed and soon enough the decathlon team was set to go to nationals. 

Peter loaded into the bus chatting with Ned. Not only was it exciting that they were going to nationals, but Flash was only a runner up so they had something over him! Around the boys and the rest of the team the air seemed bursting with both excitement and a heavy dose of nerves. The only person unaffected was Michelle but she didn’t count cause she was, ya’ know, her.

Peter got to his seat quickly and while he waited for Ned he pulled up the ‘web explorer’ app. 

Once Peter had let his best friend in on his abilities, they had developed it together. At first glance it was a slow browser for searching the internet but with a sequence of actions the app turned into a spy’s best friend. It was connected to the suit, allowing a tracker, statistics, and sometimes even video feed. It controlled Spider-Man’s social media accounts all from the same place (hey, he was meme obsessed. He was pretty sure it was illegal not to be at his age). It also connected with the gadgets the boys had invented. Between the spider drones, remote spy cameras, and bugs (that were actually shaped like bugs because Ned thought it was hilarious), the tracking map sometimes got really busy.

So, while Ned got loaded up, Peter pulled up the tracker. He had been able to drop bugs on the two thugs from the weapons deal before they got away (he still wasn’t quite sure how) and he had taken to listening in whenever he got the chance. If they slipped something big Karen would let him know but he wanted to try and pick up anything he could. Sadly, one of the bugs had been destroyed before he picked up the practice so he only had the one, but it was enough.

When Ned sat down Peter put the phone away trusting his AI wouldn’t fail to alert him and enjoyed the ride. Liz stood at the front of the bus quizzing everyone as much as possible. Flash made faces whenever Pete answered correctly (only stopping when Michelle loudly asked if he had a crush on Peter or something). Michelle was quick to answer questions and even quicker to give anyone a well earned burst of sarcasm. The rest of the team did their own thing, answering whenever they were called on to do so. It was fun, just the thing Peter needed to get his mind off of his spider problems. 

About two hours into the drive, when everyone had stopped interacting and started playing on their phones, Peter got a notification. He quickly stopped his music and tuned in to his bug. 

Through the recording, Peter could hear two annoyed voices but he lacked video feed to match the faces.

“Come on, man. We’ve got to be at the gas station by nine or boss won’t be happy.”

“Shultz, I know you’re on thin ice after that fiasco with the spider, but I need to use the bathroom. The transport won’t be in Maryland till like nine. We’ve got time.”

“Just hurry up. Boss wants eyes on these damage control guys before he goes for the hit. If they have extra security we’re done for.”

“How would they have extra security, it’s not like they know a guy with wings is going to swoop down on them.”

“Who knows. Boss still wants eyes on them before he proceeds, so, Randy, hurry up and get in the freaking van.”

The conversation went quiet after that, except for a little grumbling. When it picked up again the topic had shifted to bad drivers and away from such meaningful things. 

Peter quickly had Karen save the conversation as a recording and turned to his best friend. Now, Ned (and Michelle, but the boys didn’t notice that) had watched his friend’s face go from determined to pale and new something was up. So, when Peter asked if he could get a message through to the FBI completely anonymously, he didn’t bat an eye. He just pulled out his laptop and started coding.

It took about an hour, but Ned had managed to find a way to leave a message marked only with a little spiderweb. So, Peter linked the recording and explained a bit about the situation with the dealers and the man with metal wings before sending it off. Peter was able to enjoy the rest of the trip knowing that someone else was dealing with the situation.

\---------------------

Max was a twenty-three-year-old man who worked for the FBI. He prided himself on becoming a special agent at the youngest possible age and was always looking for his chance to move up in the world. So, when he received a mysterious message from an unknown sender, he opened it.

After looking at the contents, he called over his superior who read it over and called their superior who called over their superior. Finally, someone with enough connections to damage control was called over and promised to deal with the message. No one missed who the message was from.

Damage control was notified and instead of calling the trip off entirely, they sent a dummy truck to the storehouse and took an alternate route for the real thing.

Later that night, the fake caravan was ambushed by a man with metal wings and glowing green eyes. They were unable to capture more than a photograph of him but the shipment was spared.


	12. Oh, The Sights to See

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Washington D.C. and Rhodey

As soon as the bus reached the hotel, the team scrambled out. While the extra practice was appreciated, nearly four and a half hours in the car was wearing on their patience. The teens were also ready to get out and see the sights. 

Once their bags were piled in their rooms and their sack lunches were eaten, the group was set free. The only condition was that they couldn’t go off alone, so Michelle ended up joining Peter and Ned. The three of them decided to go to the National Mall and check out the various museums. A walk and a short metro trip later, the trio found themselves near MJ’s choice for the day: The Museum of African American History and Culture. 

The boys found a few exhibits that caught their interest as they went, but MJ seemed to love it. She had brought a notebook, and she took notes at intervals as she walked. Eventually, Michelle took pity on them and told them they could head to their “nerd museum.”

As the three of them got onto a path leading to the Air and Space Museum, Peter noticed something drop in the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he saw a well-built black man in a suit walking at a brisk pace towards the capital, and on the ground was the man’s wallet. Peter quickly told his friends (he was pretty sure Michelle counted as a friend now) that he would catch up to them in a minute and picked up the wallet.

\--------------------

Rhodey was not having a good day. 

Yes, he loved his job in the military and enjoyed his roll in defending his country, but sometimes he would love to strangle a politician or two. He was usually able to take a break for lunch around noon, but thanks to the greedy morons he had to deal with it was past two before he could even think of his meal. Thankfully, he didn’t have another meeting until 3:00, so he had time for a brisk walk around the Mall before he had to be to the Capital.

Settling with a brisk walk, Rhodey made his way down the path towards the Washington Monument. It was a warmer day, but there was a breeze that kept him cool even in his stuffy suit. He stopped at a tourist-ridden food truck for a bite to eat along Jefferson Drive. With his food in hand, he checked his watch and scowled before hastily shoving his wallet into his pocket and making his way back to work.

He happily munched on his street tacos as he strode past the afternoon crowds. After he licked the last taco remnants from his fingers, he became aware of someone running after him. He snapped into focus. In his line of work (superhero and soldier alike), a stranger running at you was usually going to turn out poorly. Slowing his pace slightly, he allowed the wheezing follower to catch up and was relived to find it was only a kid. By the looks of him, Rhodey guessed the boy was 12, maybe 13. His honey-brown doe eyes actually reminded the hero of his friend Tony.

The kid paused for a moment to catch his breath. After a moment, he stood up straight and began talking.

“Hello, sir. I’m Peter. Did you know that you walk kind of fast? Anyway, you seem to have dropped this.” The boy said with a shy smile, holding out a familiar wallet.

Rhodey’s hand flew to his pocket immediately. As expected, his wallet was nowhere to be found. Then, he eyed the kid with trepidation. Did he drop it, or did this kid pickpocket him? He took the wallet, thankful that the kid stayed where he was as he checked the contents. 

Driver’s license? Check. Credit cards? Check. Emergency cash? Check. Smoothie coupon? Check. Good, everything was there.

“Thank you for returning this to me, Peter…” he trailed off hoping for a last name.

“Oh, Peter Parker, and it was nothing, sir. It sucks to lose your stuff so I figured I could help.”

Well, that was a refreshing point of view. Rhodey was so used to being surrounded by ulterior motives that the idealistic rant of this child was like a breath of fresh air. “Well, Mr. Parker, I’m colonel James Rhodes, and thank you for the assist. Have a great day.”

He smiled and turned back to his path but before he left, he heard the kid’s startled whisper.

“Oh my freaking gosh. That was War Machine!”

Rhodey kept walking but his grin didn’t disappear for the rest of the day.

\--------------------

Peter shook himself to get over his shock and started jogging back to his friends. They were outside the Air and Space Museum at an ice cream truck, debating which flavor was the best. Ned was confident that the Spider-Man popsicle was the best thing on the planet, but Michelle insisted that a classic ice cream sandwich was manna from heaven. They only stopped arguing in a joint attempt to convince Peter that frozen bananas should not be consumed… EVER.

Their debate remained unresolved as they soon entered the geek paradise and all else was forgotten.

The museum seemed massive, and as they advanced inward, they were astounded by what they saw. There were planes and rockets suspended from the ceiling and screens displaying information all around them. Thankfully, the crowds were pretty sparse and allowed the group an easy walkway. 

Peter was ready to charge forward and explore, but before he got the chance, Michelle’s voice came from behind. 

“Hey, losers, you guys might want to see this.” Peter turned where she pointed and was rewarded with a beautiful sight.

A scale model of the Star Trek Enterprise stood in a clear case and beckoned the nerdy boys over. They spent nearly a quarter of an hour examining the model down to the finest detail, while Michelle watched with amusement. After they had their fill, they allowed the girl to lead them further into the beautiful place. They walked through exhibits about navigation and the Wright Brothers’ planes before they came to an oasis of geekhood. 

The oasis was a newly opened display called “Star Wars: The Magic of Myth”. It was an old exhibition from 1999 that the board decided to bring back for a while. It went over three Star Wars films, displaying everything from concept art to models to character costumes used in the productions. Michelle, after a quick walkthrough to look at anything that interested her, found a spot to sit and pulled out her book. Those losers would be in there for days if they could.

The friends ended their time in nerd land by going to the Albert Einstein Planetarium for one of the space documentaries in the domed theater. It was incredibly interesting, but made Peter a bit dizzy.

The trio had just enough time before closing to go through and buy some overpriced souvenirs. Peter ended up with an Einstein bobble head and Ned bought some wacky socks. Michelle declared that she wasn’t going to support corporate America, but Peter was sure he saw her buying one of those astronaut ice cream sandwiches. All in all, they had a great time and made their way out with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I admit to doing a slightly ridiculous amount of research for this chapter. The Star Wars exhibit in this chapter is a real thing that they have on the Smithsonian website and includes a digital walk-through if you're interested.


	13. Go Team!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team interactions and Karen chat!

Walking towards the nearest Metro stop, the trio felt their phones buzz. Peter pulled his out first. 

“It’s the group chat.” The two nodded in understanding.

**FastestManAlive** : Yo nerds anyone wanna come 2 Chipotle?

**Baberham** : Chipotle sounds good

**SallyForthAndTallyHo** : Im game

**LizardQueen** : Say “I” to meet at the Chipotle on 2000 Pennsylvania Ave NW. 

Peter turned to explain the proposal to the others. He made sure that Ned and Michelle were good with the plan before responding.

**DisasterChild** : I from michelle ned and i

**Baberham** : i

**FastestManAlive** : I was the one who suggested this of course im coming

**MoonMoon** : i

**MurphysLaw** : I anyone got a coupon?

**DisasterChild** : Ned has two free burrito coupons

**LizardQueen** : I have something for a couple free drinks.

**FastestManAlive** : hurry up everyone, im in line already

**Baberham** : look up idiot

**FastestManAlive** : oh

**MoonMoon** : What? 

**FastestManAlive** : nothing

**MurphysLaw** : Abe and I are in front of them in line

**SallyForthAndTallyHo** : flash, you truly are a genius 

The team continued to snip at each other until everyone had arrived. The texts gave way to friendly debates over what was the best thing to get at the restaurant until everyone was stuffing their faces with Mexican food.

After eating, the entire group raided the metro to return to their hotel for the night. With such a long day of sight-seeing behind them, the team split into their rooms.

Peter and Ned had paired up, of course. Once in the room, Ned decided he needed a nap and almost immediately passed out, leaving Peter to his own devices. Peter, who wasn’t tired, decided to spend his time on his AI.

“Hey, Karen?” Peter asked with a smile. 

His phone hummed for a second before projecting the AI’s voice. “I’ve connected to the security cameras using their open wifi network. What do you need Peter?”

“I just wanted to chat, K. So, have the FBI got the message yet?”

“Yes, Peter, it appears that the Bureau has found your message and are taking action. “ 

“That’s good. I was worried.” Peter was quiet for a moment. “K, how are things going with Friday?”

Peter knew that the two AIs had become great friends, especially since (according to them) their creators had so much in common. “Friday is doing well. It’s quite enjoyable to complain about you to someone other than May.” Peter could hear the smirk in her digitized voice.

“You’re hilarious,” Peter said in a deadpan before an all too common thought caught in his brain. “Do you think things would be different if I got the internship?”

“Of course it would.” Karen hardly had to process the question. It came up pretty often, especially after one of the bully’s brag sessions. “Things would be different than they are if Stark found you, but we have no way to know how things would be different. For better or worse, life is how it is. Now you just have to appreciate it.”

Peter’s mind was officially blown. “How did you get so wise? I don’t remember coding you to be so world wise.” He smiled, to show his friend it was a joke.

“I simply look at what you do,” she said cheekily, “and do the opposite.”

Peter’s laugh filled the room. “Well, according to you, oh wise one, what should I do now?”

“You could work on the hidden earpiece you brought in your backpack.”

“Yes, Master.” Peter smirked.

“Very good, young Padawan.” That brought a fresh mile to the young hero’s face as he began to work.

\--------------------

Peter worked for hours, chatting with Karen (including some really awkward advice about his crush on Liz). When Ned woke up, he joined in, helping with the coding on his laptop. 

Both boys were surprised by a knock hours later. Peter glanced at the clock and was surprised to find it was already past 10 at night. They looked out the peephole and were relieved to see Liz instead of some creep outside their door.

Peter pulled the door open and stepped into the hall to meet his crush.

“Hey guys, get in your suits. We’re going swimming.” She turned down the hallway and waved the other students forward. “Come on, come on, come on!”

“What?” Peter muttered, confused. He thought the pool closed at 10.

“Hey, Peter.” Sally called quietly as she walked past.

Peter also got a “hi” from Cindy.

Flash decided the perfect greeting was to slap Peter’s butt as he went passed because he’s just that mature.

“I thought we were supposed to be studying or something.” Peter half stated, half asked.

“Peter, you don’t really need to study. You’re, like, the smartest guy I’ve ever met.” Liz smiled as Peter’s face rapidly flushed redder than a firetruck. “Besides, I read in a TED talk that a rebellious group activity the day before a competition is good for morale. I mean, I heard that in a TED talk. I read a coaching book, too.” By the end of her stuttered explanation, Liz was blushing too, but nothing could get in the way of her proud smile.

Peter was impressed. “That’s amazing. I mean that’s really interesting.” He stopped for a second, unable to keep the admiration from his face. “This is really important to you.”

Liz blushed again. “Well, yeah. It’s our future. I’m not gonna screw it up.” Her face changed to a smirk. “Besides, we raided the minibar and these candy bars were, like, eleven dollars. So, get your trunks on and come on.”

Liz managed to throw a candy bar at Peter before Sally and Charles told her to hurry up. “I’m coming, I’m coming. See you down there, Pete.”

Peter scrambled into the room to put on his swimsuit. Ned must have heard the invite too, because he was already dressed and ready to go. Finally, Peter came out of the bathroom in his trunks and was ready to run out the door before Ned caught his arm.

“Dude, as cool as you look, how are you going to explain those?” Peter was confused for a moment before he realized Ned was referring to his abs. 

Peter had developed a six pack with the spider bite and his vigilante exploits made sure it never disappeared. However, it not exactly go with his nerdy persona that everyone knew about. Darn. Peter would have loved to show off, but he knew his identity was more important, so he grabbed a T-shirt and threw it on.

The duo went down and were let into the pool by Charles. 

“Wow, Puny, you really that ugly that you need to wear a shirt while swimming?” Flash smirked.

“No, of course not,” Peter replied sarcastically, “I’m setting a new trend. I can’t believe you missed it.”

The rest of the team laughed at Peter putting the jerk in his place. Liz even went so far as to grab the shirt she brought and put it on. “See, it’s the newest thing.” After that it was barely a minute before everyone who had brought a shirt down had it on. This did not include Flash.

The decathletes had fun in the pool for almost an hour before an employee caught them and ordered them out. They parted ways laughing and ready for the competition the next day.

\--------------------

In the morning, the team awoke and went to breakfast. They went through the motions; getting the crappy hotel breakfast, putting on lucky socks… you know, the usual. Then they made their way to the competition.

The team they were facing were good, but in the end, they were no match for the combined genius of Peter, Ned, and Michelle. Oh… and the other people, too. In the end it was Michelle who answered the winning question and sent them to victory.

After the event finished, they sat through awards and cheers before they went on their way. After all, they still had to see the Washington Monument. 


	14. Monumental Occasion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beloved Washington Monument scene. Have fun kiddos!

Under the direction of Mr. Harrington, the team filtered towards the entrance of the monument. 

“Look kids, isn’t this just amazing?” Mr. Harrington looked around for anyone willing to listen to him and spotted Michelle standing to the side reading a book. “Really taking it all in, Michelle?”

Michelle just looked up from her book with an unamused face. “Oh, yeah, I just… don’t want to celebrate something made by slaves.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t- “He was cut off when he saw a security guard confirming the girl’s words. “Alright, enjoy your book.”

“Yeah, thanks.” She said with disinterest.

Hearing this interaction, Peter walked over to Michelle once Harrington walked away. “So, you’re not going up?”

Michelle’s calculating stare turned to him. “No, I’m not. Is there a reason you’re asking?” Her raised eyebrow made him stumble.

“Well, I… if you wanted, I could stay down here to keep you company. You know… when the others go up.” She continued to stare at him, giving nothing away, until she must have reached some conclusion.

Michelle’s gaze softened. “Thanks. For the offer, I mean. But go ahead with the rest of the class, I’m staying down here because of what I believe and I’ll be fine on my own.”

“Alright, if you’re sure.” Peter gave her a grin. “See you when we get down!”

Peter and his team, minus Michelle, made their way through security and into the elevator. No one noticed when Flash’s backpack started glowing purple. 

Peter felt on edge. After the group had gone through security, something felt off to him. It was like a chill on the back of his neck and was getting more intense over time. Ned slapped his shoulder with a look of concern, so Peter decidedly shook off the feeling and boarded the elevator.

The tour guide started her spiel about the attributes of the building, and the teens listened in case Harrington decided to quiz them. That plan was literally blown off it’s hinges when Flash’s backpack erupted with light.

\--------------------

Outside, Michelle looked up in surprise. The sound of a crash seemed to come from the towering structure in front of her. She hoped she was wrong, but as she looked, it confirmed her fears. 

There were cracks in the stone, and glass rained down from some broken windows. The tip of the monument had cracked off entirely. 

She should have known it would be her class to bring down a monument.

\--------------------

Flash quickly flung the smoking bag from his shoulders. 

He should never have picked up that glowing thing. He shouldn’t have been carrying it around. He really shouldn’t have brought it into a limited space full of his classmates. He knew all this and more, but at the moment all that registered was that he needed to get out of here; he was too important to die.

\--------------------

In the clearing smoke, Charles pointed up. “Look at the ceiling.”

Turing to look, the class saw what the pointed out. There was a glowing red crack spanning the elevator’s ceiling.

“Alright, everyone,” Liz soothed,” just stay calm. Things will be fi…”

Before she could finish calming everyone down Abe opened his big mouth. “We’re all going to die!” that easily undid any of the captain’s assurances. 

Peter stood berating himself for not listening to his gut as chaos erupted around him. Thankfully, Karen was still connected and did her best to bring her creator back to the situation. “Peter!” Her voice made him jump. “You need to focus. Something has exploded and damaged the elevator. I don’t have a way of scanning the structure at the moment, but judging from the damage around you, I’d guess even the emergency measures may fail.”

The fact that the tour guide choose that moment to proclaim that the safety systems were working perfectly was exactly the type of irony that Peter did not need right now (but it almost made him laugh anyway). The ranger droned on, letting the students know how (not) safe they were as she opened the elevator’s ceiling hatch.

The ranger went to boost the nearest student, Cindy, though the hatch, but the girl was suddenly shoved out of the way. Flash stood in her place. “I’m more important than any of these nobodies. I’m going first.” In an effort to move quickly, the disgusted guide hoisted the boastful boy and his tightly held trophy out of the way. She then turned to the next student and helped them up. 

After watching both Flash and Cindy struggle to pull themselves out of the shaft, Peter went next and acted as a go-between. He stood on top of the elevator and gave the others a lift to the waiting hands above them. 

He had just let go of Abe when the cord holding them up snapped. The entire carriage-Ned, Peter, Liz, and tour guide included- plummeted. Screams filled the air before being overwhelmed by the grinding of metal on metal. By some miracle, the elevator had caught on a broken beam a few feet down. Peter carefully crawled to the hatch and looked inside.

“Are you all alright?” His gaze swept over the three inside, who didn’t look much worse for the wear. All of them would have some wicked bruises in the morning and they probably had concussions, but for now they could move. “Okay, guys, be careful to not jostle the car much, the only thing keeping us up right now is a beam and friction.” His companions’ startled looks prompted further explanation. “Don’t worry, we only slipped a couple extra feet, and we’ll be alright as long as we’re careful.”

Ned took the initiative and began moving to the hatch with gentle steps. The guide linked her hands to use as a mount for the heavyset boy and guided him to his waiting friend’s arms. “You know,” Ned whispered to Peter, “as cool as it is to be rescued by you, I don’t plan on ever doing this again.”

“Good.” Peter whispered back, thankful for his friend’s humor. Looking up, he frowned and turned back to the opening. “Miss? I could use some help getting Ned up all the way and I’m more likely to be able to lift Liz up myself, so can I get your help up here?”

The poor woman looked so relived not to be the one in charge with this disaster that she gladly agreed to his plan. With Liz helping from below and Peter from above, the guide was quickly on top with the two boys. Peter prompted her where to go and counted down. As Ned raised, they felt the ground shift slightly. 

Peter suddenly felt the odd foreboding from before again so he hurried the lady to the waiting hands of those above before turning to the hatch where Liz waited. 

As his foot came down, Peter heard the beam snap and dove for Liz’s outstretched hand. 

\--------------------

Peter sat, wrapped in a shock blanket at the bottom of the monument. Once everyone had been safely evacuated, parents arrived and people were interviewed. Someone in the class had heard what happened and now the entire group had been made aware that this whole mess was Flash’s fault. Apparently, he had found some glowing rock and thought it had to do with Spider-Man so he was carrying it around with him, instead of doing the smart thing and bringing it to his (literal Avenger) boss.

Luckily for Flash, since no one got hurt and he hadn’t known what the thing was, he got off with only a scolding instead of something more serious on his record.

Peter shivered. The no major injuries stat was a near miss. 

\--------------------

As his foot came down, Peter heard the beam snap and dove for Liz’s outstretched hand.

Peter’s fingers barely curled around hers and would have slipped without an assist from his powers. As the elevator dropped, Peter’s empty hand caught on the only thing it could; the stub of the broken beam.

With a sudden jerk, the two teens stopped their deadly decent. Peter barely held in a cry as the jagged edges of the metal dug into his hand. He wasn’t sure what was going on around him, only vaguely aware of calls to hold on for just a bit longer.

The boy almost snorted. What was he going to do? Let go?

It took a couple minutes, but the rangers up above managed to find a rope to drop down to the two. Liz went first. Grabbing onto the rope, she was pulled to safely. 

When it was lowered for Peter, it took some time for him to shift to the new thing to grip. Being pulled up with his already strained muscles was not fun, but once he was up top it was over.


	15. Internship Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flash goes to his internship and Tony 'gets to' work with him.

Flash was excited. He hardly got in any trouble after the glowing rock blew up his field trip, but that wasn’t why Flash was excited.

Today was the day he got to work in Ironman’s lab. Despite coming to the tower two times a week, Flash only got this opportunity about once a month. His boss was a busy man, after all.

And, yeah, he was a bit worried about Ironman’s response to the explosion, but it probably wasn’t going to be that bad. It was just a mistake. Besides, someone from work had already talked to him about it. They told him that he was out of warnings and that his next mistake would probably be the end of his career at SI. Ha! What did they even know though? He was Ironman’s personal intern. They couldn’t boss him around. Ironman loved working with him, so Stark would make sure he wasn’t fired. 

Besides, it wasn’t like he was going to blow up a national monument again. What else mattered?

It was the day that Flash got to go in and work with a real superhero. Each time he came in, he and Ironman built something new. Nothing they worked on was too hard for him (at least that’s what Flash told himself), but he let Stark explain it anyway. Every once and a while, Flash would learn something new (*cough*everytimehecamein*cough*).

The superhero was always super interested to hear about Flash’s life, so Flash told him all he needed to know. He told stories about his new highest stats in gym class. He explained how he had solved dramatic problems with ease. He elaborated on every detail, minimizing everyone else’s rolls as much as possible. Cause why would Ironman want to hear about them?

The one student he spoke about (other than himself, of course) was Puny Parker. He made sure to tell Ironman how high-and-mighty Puny acted. How he had stolen Flash’s rightful spot on the decathlon team, but never bothered to study for it. How he looked down on everyone else enough that he only interacted with one or two people in the entire school. Each statement held just enough truth that if Ironman double checked, it would seem true. 

Flash wasn’t the smartest kid ever, but if there was something he knew, it was how to knock someone down. His parents were lawyers, and while they never took the time to teach him, he learned his methods from watching them work. He had plenty of charisma, he knew what to say to send someone crashing, and he knew to be prepared.

Puny Parker would eventually apply to Stark Industries again. Maybe it would be a few years away but it would happen. By that time Flash would have Stark primed to reject him before the application even registered. Parker would probably be the type to pass Flash eventually, so he would cut his legs out from under him. Besides, how could he not brag about how he’s keeping Parker’s ego in check?

\--------------------

Today was Tony Stark’s least favorite day of the month.

Getting an intern was probably the worst decision he had ever made, right up there with trusting Obediah and building Ultron. The hiring board had picked some snot-nosed teenager to come work with him, and he couldn’t stand the kid.

Flash (cause that wasn’t a stupid nickname at all *cue eye rolls*) was arrogant and reminded Tony of his teenage self all too much. The brat was probably karma’s way of getting back at him for being such a little devil in his adolescence.

Sadly, the twerp was everything the board was looking for. He went to a good school, had a few notable recommendations, was charismatic, and had near perfect grades.

Tony sighed. It was nearly time for his monthly torture. With only an hour left till the-twerp-who-must-not-be-named showed up, Tony went seeking sympathy.

“Pepper, does he really have to come?” He whined, flopping dramatically onto her office chair. “He does fine without me the rest of the month, why can’t we add today into that too?”

“Tony,” Pepper huffed, “Eugene is supposed to be your personal intern, not just some random errand boy. You have to interact with him. You’ve managed to push this back to once a month, but you can’t go any farther.”

“But, Pep…”

Tony’s complaining was immediately cut off.

“NO, Tony!” She exclaimed sharply. “You can’t keep doing this. You need this. The public is ready to tear you apart at any sign of weakness, so you need to see this through.”

Tony turned and was greeted with the sight of Pepper holding her head in her hands. His face softened. He knew that he was being difficult, but this kid was a harsh reminder of times and mistakes he would much rather forget. He stood and gently pulled the woman into his arms.

“I’ll try.” Tony said without preamble. “I can’t promise you a miracle and I can’t stand the twerp, but I’ll try.”

“Thank you, Tony. I know this is hard and you don’t do well with kids, but thank you for giving it a chance.”

Pepper smiled and Tony’s heart melted. He knew they were taking a break, but he wished they weren’t. However, being Tony Stark, he said none of that and played it off instead.

”Pep, I’m the worst with kids. The last time I met one I could stand, I left him in the dark in Tennessee.” He gave her a winning grin and she laughed.

“Okay, Tony. Eugene will be here in a few minutes, so go get in your lab.”

“You know, I think that’s the first time you’ve ever told me to get into my lab instead of out of it.”

With a slight chuckle, Pepper pushed her genius out of the room and towards his lab. “It’s unlikely to ever happen again, so savor the moment.”

Gosh, Tony loved that woman.

\--------------------

When Tony got to the lab (the one set aside to work with the intern, because there was no way Tony was letting the twerp anywhere near one of his suits), he busied himself with preparing for the day’s task. He would be showing the teen how to build a miniature drone like the Avengers used from time to time. The twerp would probably think the team would actually use it someday, but Tony didn’t count on it.

No, the only person who got to touch most of the team’s gear besides Tony was their mysterious tinkering friend who fixed their discarded gear after battles.

It was about five minutes after the arranged time when the twerp sauntered in. The little piece of crap constantly acted like he owned the company, and Tony took great pride in bruising his ego a bit each time they came into contact. Educationally, of course.

Tony started with a lecture about the day’s invention and asked a few questions, none of which received correct answers. He used holographic diagrams to explain the parts of the project. Finally, after an hour and a half of dealing with the boy’s idiocy, they were able to start building. It took only about half a millisecond for the twerp to start talking about himself. Everything from his hair (“Don’t I look great, it’s a new shampoo.”) to some stunt in gym (“Perfect shot if I don’t say so myself.”), the teen just wouldn’t shut up. The only things that weren’t entirely about him were about some classmate (either a bully or a crush, Tony couldn’t figure out which yet) that sounded like an even bigger blockhead than the teen Tony was saddled with. 

The kid must have been bad to get Flash to look up from admiring himself long enough to catch on.

Overall, Tony couldn’t wait for the day to be over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this wasn't my favorite chapter but oh well. Besides, I put in some nice Peperoni (Pepper/Tony) fluff in there to make it slightly more bearable.


	16. Witch Way?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter meets Wanda.

With all the chaos in Peter’s life at the moment, it felt amazing to just walk around the park. After the almost fatal trip to Washington, everyone had been on edge. Almost dying will do that to a person. 

Even worse than the tension at school was the silence from the weapons dealers. There had been no new cases of alien weapon use that Peter had seen, and it was getting on his nerves. Not that he wanted illegal weapons out there, but still. 

Thus, Peter’s impromptu walk through the parks of the city. 

The walk was winding down towards dinner time when he spotted a frustrated girl on a bench. No, this wasn’t a girl, this was a woman, in her mid-twenties maybe. Normally, Peter would leave a lady to her own business, but this one looked like she could use a hand. So, without further ado, he went and sat on the bench next to her. 

She turned to him, a suspicious look on her face, but he didn’t let himself be bothered by it. What really caught his attention was when her eyes and hands started glowing red a little. Recognizing who this girl was, he decided screw secret identities, and looked her in the eye, leaving his brain fully open. If she needed this to feel safe with him, he would allow it.

This action (combined with the kindness and courage coming off the boy) left Wanda staggering. Most people were unaware when she used her powers and those who knew usually tried to close themselves off. The trust the boy placed in her was amazing, and so she decided to trust him in return. She let her magic fall and turned to face him.

“Hi.” She winced. The frustration had clearly not left her voice yet. It left her sounding brittle and unsure.

“Hi there. I’m Peter Parker. I noticed you seemed a bit frustrated and I was wondering if I could do something to help.” Peter gave her a soft smile, leaving even the thought of judgement far behind.

Wanda swiped at her misty eyes and huffed. She knew this child could probably help her and her pride had been wounded enough for the day. “Hello, Peter,” she began, her rich Slovakian accent coating her words, “I am Wanda Maximoff. Do you live around here?”

Peter seemed slightly surprised that she had answered him at all but a large grin quickly overtook his face. “Yep, Queens born and raised. New York has always been my home.”

Her lips quirked up at his excitement. “Well, then, do you know a good place to go on a date around here?”

“Huh?”

His quiet curiosity and confused look were all it took for her to open her mouth. 

“During the tension with the near civil war of the Avengers, I got into a major fight with my boyfriend. It was bad. He was trying to protect me, but I was so angry and said some extremely hurtful things to him. Once things were resolved with the team, I went and begged forgiveness from him and it worked. But now, we’re both here in this city and he’s not from here either, but he keeps coming up with all these amazing dates, and just for once I want to surprise him. Bring him somewhere new. So today, I got up and started walking, and I’ve been looking for a good date spot and found nothing. Now, to make it worse, I have no clue where I am.”

Once she ended her rant and dropped her hands into her lap, she turned once again to Peter. He was still there, watching attentively as she complained.

“Alright, so I am not the person to go to for love advice, and you seem to have that part pretty well handled on your own, but I do know this city. So, here’s my question.” He jumped up off the bench to stand in front of her and reached out his hand to help her up too. “Do you trust me?”

Peter’s eyes were full of mischief and a smirk danced across his lips. Wanda looked at him for only a second before she mirrored the grin. “Well, why not?” She took his hand and her pulled her off the bench, laughing.

The two began to walk, Peter leading the way with surety. As they walked, they talked. Peter asked her about being part of the Avengers and her homeland, and she asked about his hobbies and New York. Every once in a while, he would stop to point out a good spot to eat or a nice book shop but kept walking. Finally, they seemed to arrive at Peter’s intended destination.

He interrupted his latest story (“…and then I told the lady that, no, I hadn’t seen a dog in a sweater vest.”) with a quiet, “Oh, we’re here,” and walked into a door, nearly invisible from the street and marked only with a small sign. Inside was a hodgepodge of colors and smells. 

While she was still taking in her surroundings, Peter shouted into the kitchen area. “Nonna, ho portato un amico!” Before she could ask what he said, there were ladies rushing out to greet them. 

“Peter! Welcome back, bambino.” The oldes- looking lady led the charge as the three surrounded him. “Who is this that you’ve brought to see us? Did you find yourself someone to be your girlfriend?”

With Peter’s cry of “Nonna!” the women chuckled, but let it lie. Now that they were done discussing his (nonexistent) love life, Peter decided to introduce his companion.

“Nonna, Rosa, Maria… this is Wanda. I met her today in the park. She’s not from around here, and was looking for a good place to take her boyfriend on a date.” Peter did little jazz hands towards her. “Wanda, this is Maria, Rosa, and Gianna. Everyone calls Gianna “Nonna” though, so don’t try to fight it.”

The ladies surged forward once again, this time coming at Wanda. 

“Oh, darling, you have such lovely hair.” 

“Tell us about this boy of yours!”

“Where are you from?”

“Come, sit down.”

The three Italians herded the two younger people to a table, and while Wanda started answering some questions, Rosa disappeared into the kitchen before bringing out a tray of food. Eventually, their questions answered, the ladies withdrew and left Peter and Wanda to just talk. After a moment of silence, Wanda was the first to speak.

“Wow.” That was all it took, and Peter dissolved into a fit of giggles. 

“I know, right?” He paused to gather his breath. “I stumbled in here while running away from some bullies a while ago, and they decided to adopt me. I thought you would like it for the homey atmosphere. And they make a mean alfredo.” Peter stopped talking in favor of stuffing his mouth with said pasta. 

Wanda was quiet for a minute, simply looking at this child. He seemed so silly and unassuming at first glance, but just her short glimpse into his mind had shown her so much more. He was well acquainted with sorrow and carried it with him wherever he went. He also held so much love and desire to help that it colored everything he did. She didn’t need to look further to see how pure this boy was, despite all the hardship he had faced. 

“Thank you.” It was quiet, almost under her breath, but Peter heard it and simply cocked his head at her. “Thank you for all of this. I was literally a stranger up until an hour ago, but you stopped and took time to help me and just...” She rubbed a hand down her face, unable to find the right words. “…thank you.”

He looked right back at her. His face was serious. “I know what it’s like to need a hand. Sometimes life just decides that we need a kick down the right path. It may suck in the moment, but there’s a secret to it: things can only get better from there. And even if it doesn’t always seem worth it, look at what you’ve done along the way. You may have lost and made some bad choices, but that does not define you. You are amazing. You’re a hero, and you have people who care about you.” He grabbed a pen and napkin from somewhere and wrote something before handing it to her. “If you forget that you can always text me. Or if you need more date ideas. Or anything really.”

“Thank you again, Peter. You are a special kid.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know that I’m fifteen, thank you very much.” He lifted his nose in fake indignation. He let his gaze settle back on her with a laugh. “Anyway, we should head, before your team sends out a search party,” he added with a wink. 

They headed to the counter, and as soon as Peter pulled out his wallet, the ladies started to object. “Darling, no… you didn’t even order.” “We just put the food in front of you.” “It was our treat.” And so on. At last, he put away his wallet, much to their pleasure (but Wanda saw Peter slip the money in the tip jar while the ladies weren’t looking).

Once they were on the street, Peter began to lead again. He told stories of his experiences around the city and talked about the crazy things he had seen about her teammates online. Wanda was so captivated by his liveliness that she was perplexed when Peter suddenly halted, proclaimed this to be her stop, and reminded her to text if she wanted to, before saying goodbye and walking away. When she looked up, she saw she was right outside Avengers Tower. 

He had walked her all the way home, despite living in Queens. Shaking her head, she went inside. In her pocket she had a number she knew she would text. After all, Peter Parker was a very special kid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I absolutely adore Peter and Wanda friendship, so this was lots of fun to write. Wanda has now gone the way of all Marvel heroes and adopted Peter as her own. They are now siblings. If you disagree? Fight me.
> 
> Have a nice day!


	17. Stevie-boy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter chats with Karen and helps a super soldier with his bike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my editor for everything!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peter was exhausted. There had been no new leads on the weapons dealers for a while, and it had been wearing on him. Even after helping the Scarlet Witch the past week and texting her since then, he was wearing down. So the only logical conclusion was to complain about it.

He sat in his room, sprawled on his desk chair, with a damaged Ironman drone in front of him. As he ranted on and on about his lack of leads and how annoying it was, Karen made sympathetic (and slightly sarcastic) sounds at the right moments. When he stopped to catch his breath, she took the opportunity to make a suggestion.

“Well, you could review the footage of your encounter with the thugs.” Peter looked confusedly at one of her sensors. If she was a human, she would have rolled her eyes. “Shortly before the altercation, you updated my systems to allow you to record what you see as Spider-Man through your lenses. You have a video of the fight.”

“Thanks, Karen, I completely forgot about that. Can you pull it up on my laptop?”

He spun away from his desk full of parts to snatch his computer from his backpack, then plopped himself on the edge of the bed. Karen began to show his video, but since she had a terrible sense of humor (which was entirely his fault and he wouldn’t change it for the world), she started with him pretending to be each of the Avengers in front of the mirror in his suit. Dang, that was embarrassing. Eventually, Karen pulled up the proper video. It was grainy, but Peter was able to see who was involved. He didn’t recognize the guys selling the weapons, but when he looked at the buyer, he was greeted by a face he knew. Aaron Davis.

——————————

Since it was a nice day (and he had forgot to stock up on web fluid during science), Peter decided to walk most of the way there before changing into the suit. He started on his way and got a whole three blocks before his do-gooder instincts kicked in.

  
He saw a man bent over a motorcycle, obviously trying to figure out how to make it start. Instead of passing him by like the others on the street, Peter stopped.

  
“Excuse me, sir, do you need some help?”  
With a grunt, the man stood up and Peter’s vision went red, white, and blue. In front of him was Captain America. “Maybe? My bike won’t start.” When he turned to face Peter, he froze just slightly.

  
“Holy guacamole! You’re Captain America!” Thankfully, even in his amazement, Peter said it quietly enough to not attract the attention of the others around. “Hi, I’m Peter. Peter Parker. Thank you so much for all you do. You are one of my favorite heroes. You have a nice bike…”

  
Peter continued to ramble until he looked at Cap’s face. The man was uncomfortable but trying to hide it. It made Peter annoyed with himself that he had put that discomfort there.

  
He took a deep breath. “Okay, sorry about that. Can I try again?” Peter paused for a second, half expecting the Captain to deny him, but nothing came. He simply pressed on. “Hi, my name is Peter Parker. I noticed you seem to be having trouble with your bike. Would you like some help?”

  
Steve’s mouth had dropped open slightly, right about when Peter said sorry. It wasn’t often that fans could pull themselves together and talk to him like that. Not to mention, the boy apologized for his outburst. Steve didn’t remember the last time (if ever) someone had done that.

  
‘Oh yeah, I need to respond,’ his mind supplied as the boy (Peter he said his name was) started to shuffle awkwardly from foot to foot in the silence. “Yeah,” he finally articulated, making Peter jump slightly at the suddenness of it, “help would be nice. Do you know a good mechanic around here?”

  
Peter grinned up at him. Well, I know a mechanic, but I know a bit about motorcycles myself and I could take a look.”

  
Steve was impressed but a little wary. Peter looked like a twelve year old. Granted, Steve knew he could be older (look at him before he got the serum, and you’d never get his age right), but he wasn’t exactly awe inspiring. Steve calculated, “Eh, how much damage can he really do? I need to get it fixed anyway,” and so he stepped aside and let Peter approach the bike.

  
Peter, though excited to be working on THE Captain America’s bike, knew that he needed to focus. He gave the outside of the bike a once over, noting scratches and dents, but saw nothing that would keep it from functioning. Then he lifted the hood. In front of him the engine gleamed, and Peter spotted the problem. There were several loose components. Turning, he explained what was wrong to Steve and only got a blank look in return. As brilliant and inspirational as the man could be, mechanics really wasn’t his deal. So, Peter simply requested to fix the problem.

  
Steve furrowed his eyebrows, thinking. There was a possibility that this kid could mess things up further… but he did seem to know what he was doing… but did Steve really want to get stuck with terrible repairs… but what harm could it do? Steve’s internal debate raged on for a couple seconds until he caught sight of the kid’s face. It was so full of good intentions that it hurt to look at. The in next second, Steve had given his permission for the repairs, hoping that it wasn’t a mistake.

  
Peter happily plopped his backpack on the ground and started digging through. He pulled out duct tape, zip ties, and a thing of gorilla glue. Then he got to work. Ten minutes later, Peter emerged from the hood and gestured for Steve to try it out. To the man’s surprise, his bike started running smoothly. Steve turned to gape at the kid and was met with a subtle smirk. Peter could obviously tell that Cap had been doubting his skills, and he was over the moon with proving the legend wrong.

  
“Well sir, if that’s all, I need to be heading. You should get this into the shop soon though. You’ve got probably a week, but duct tape will only hold for so long.” And with another grin that was half triumphant smirk and half genuine goodness, Peter turned back the way he was heading and started to walk.

  
“Hey Pete,” the boy turned to Steve once more. “Thanks for your help, kid.” And the Captain sped off too, thinking about the quirky little kid.

 


	18. Miles to Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter meets up with a friend from Brooklyn and leaves another message for the FBI.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I keep forgetting to mention it in the notes section, but I use parts of the Spider-Man: Homecoming dialog in some chapters. So, that dialog isn't mine, but I try to keep it light. 
> 
> Anyway, another late night chapter, cause I forgot it until like 10:30. Have a nice day, y'all!

A ball bounced on an empty cement lot in Brooklyn. Staring at a swaying net, a young man stood, setting up for the winning shot. 

Aim. Launch. And it’s…

Thwip!

A sticky white string caught onto the ball, pulling it to a red- and blue-wearing dork.

“Hey, Morales.”

Miles Morales grinned. A while ago, he had gotten lost in Queens and happened to run into the area’s resident vigilante, Spider-Man. It was an… interesting… encounter, to say the least, but once he had calmed down and realized he wasn’t being mugged, Miles actually got along with the hero. The final result of the meeting was an open invitation for Spidey to play basketball at Miles’ favorite empty lot.

“How’s it goin’, Spidey/” 

“It’s going good, how about you?”

“I’m good, just shootin’ some hoops.”

“Funny,” Spider-Man teased, “I was walking along and saw this basketball going off course, like really badly, so I decided to save the poor player who shot it some embarrassment.”

“Hilarious.” Miles’ deadpan had Spider-Man cracking up. “You here for some hoops then man?”

Spidey seemed to grimace a bit under the mask. “Maybe a bit later. I was actually hoping I could chat with your uncle. Is he around?””

Miles shrugged indifferently, “Not here, but I can call him if you need to meet up. One sec.” With that, Miles whipped out his cell and started scrolling before tapping on a contact and putting it up to his ear. “Yo! Uncle Aaron. Wassup? So, my friend Spidey was hoping to meet up with you for something, you up for it?”

Spiderman stood in front of the boy awkwardly. Miles could tell he was trying not to listen in as the hero shuffled his feet. 

“Sure, Miles, tell Spider-boy that he can swing by my flat. I’m home right now so he can come right over.” Miles may have imagined it, but his Uncle’s voice sounded kind of… resigned? The teen wondered about that, but quickly brushed off the thought.

“Thanks Uncle Aaron! Adios!!”

All he heard before he hung up was Aaron’s deep chuckle. Miles turned back to Spider-Man. 

“’Kay, Webhead, Uncle Aaron said you can swing over to his flat. Just make sure that you come back sometime so that I can trounce you at basketball again.”

Miles turned back and started to line up his shot again (without webby interference). He launched the ball and watched it soar through the air into the net. Since no one else was around, he started his victory dance. 

Midway through the dance, Miles noticed that Spidey had never left.

With a smirk visible through his mask, Spider-Man began to speak again. “So, are you going to tell me where your uncle lives or would you prefer to keep dancing, Morales?”

Miles face grew warm. “Yeah, sure. Whatever.” Miles then rattled off his Uncle’s address and watched to make sure his spidery friend left. 

He was never living this down.

\--------------------

As Peter swung to the address for Aaron Davis, he prayed that Aaron would help him. 

When he got to the building, he noticed Aaron standing on his fire escape, beckoning him inside. When he climbed in, Aaron had taken a seat on the couch.

“Hey, Spider-boy.” Aaron sounded wary. 

“Aaron Davis?” At the man’s nod, Peter continued. “I need some information.”

“I figured, this is about those weapons, right?”

“Look, man, these guys are selling weapons that are crazy dangerous. They can't just be out on the streets. Look, if one of them can just cut Delmar's bodega in half...”

“You know Delmar’s?” Aaron questioned, reclining where he sat.

Despite the unexpectedness of the question, Peter answered on reflex. “Definitely, best sandwiches in Queens.”

Aaron wasn’t convinced. “Sandwich Haven is pretty good.”

“Nah, too much bread.”

“I like bread.”

“Come on man, don’t you know something you could tell me? Names? Secret bases? Anything?” Peter paced the room and at Aaron’s continued silence, started towards the open window. Aaron stopped him.

“The other night, you told that guy, “’You gonna shoot at somebody, shoot at me.’ That was pretty brave.” He said quietly. “I don’t want those weapons in this neighborhood. I got a nephew who lives here.”

“I know, Miles is pretty great.” Peter’s smile dissolved. “Please, man. Who are these guys? What’s up with the guy with wings?”

“The man is a psychopath dressed like a demon, but I don’t know anything else about him. Not who he is. Definitely not where he is.” Peter started pacing again in the silence. “I do know where he’s gonna be.”

Peter nearly gave himself whiplash turning back to Aaron. “Really?”

Aaron nodded. “There’s this crazy dude I used to work with, He’s gonna be doing a deal with him.”

“Yes! Yes. Thank you!” Peter started to scamper out the window.

“Hey, hey, hey. I didn’t tell you where yet. You don’t even know when it’s gonna happen.” The hero curled in on himself a little, but moved back to stand in front of the criminal. 

“Sorry.” Peter cringed a little “My bad. Silly. Just…”

“Can I give you some advice?”

Peter quickly nodded. He knew he needed all the help he could get.

“You gotta get better at this part of the job.”

“What do you mean?” Peter cocked his head like a confused puppy.

Aaron sighed; it was likely a lost cause anyway. “Never mind. The deal’s going down three days from now on the Staten Island Ferry at eleven.”

“Thank you, Aaron. Can I give you some advice now?”

Aaron only arched an eyebrow.

“Look, your life choices are your own, but with your job now? You’re going to end up dead or in prison someday. Please don’t do that to Miles. I don’t want him to lose someone he cares about so much.”

With that, Peter walked to the window and webbed away, leaving Aaron Davis to consider his priorities. 

\--------------------

Peter went back to his house to change and quickly left for Ned’s house.

After Ned’s mom let him in, Peter ran to his friend’s room. He looked in from the open doorway and saw his friend jamming out with his back turned to the door. Peter smirked. There was no way he wouldn’t take this opportunity.

Peter made sure to close the door quietly behind him and jumped onto the ceiling. He crawled directly over Ned’s head before standing upright.

“Boo.”

Peter’s whisper into his ear caused Ned to bolt from his chair. As he stood, he tripped over a spare shoe and he spilled onto the floor. He was quickly followed to the floor as Peter slipped off the ceiling in his laughter. 

Downstairs, Ned’s parents sighed but didn’t go check on the boys. they had stopped questioning anything they did years ago. It was better for their sanity.

Ned sat up and glared at his best friend. “Dude.” 

Despite the betrayal and disappointment Ned managed to pack into the word, Peter just gave him a cheeky grin. “So, you still have that backdoor to the FBI?”

Right away Ned forgot about Peter’s prank. He was excited. “What do you take me for? An amateur? Of course, I still have it. I’ve been looking into adding it to the Web so you can use it easier.”

“Good. I have another tip for them.”

Ned was practically vibrating at this point, so Peter took pity on him and told him what he had been doing all day.

“Dude, only you would just happen to know the nephew of the guy you’re trying to find.” Ned teased.

“Yeah, that was kind of nice. And Miles is always fun to talk to when I’m in Brooklyn.” Peter smiled to himself, but Ned snorted, bringing back his attention.

“Next thing you know,” Ned laughed, “Liz is going to be the vulture guy.”

“No way, dude.” Peter was affronted at the mere suggestion. “Liz has nothing to do with the vulture.”

“Dude, chill. I’m joking.” Ned exasperatedly rolled his eyes. “Anyway, you said you wanted to get another message to the FBI?”

The two boys worked for the next half hour making the perfect message and sending it before starting another Star Wars marathon.

\--------------------

Max was probably getting to be Spider-Man’s biggest fan.

In all his years at the FBI, no one person had helped his career so much. The hero randomly picking him as his link to the FBI had done wonders for him. Spidey’s initial message launched him into a spotlight, and the quick thank you message after the situation was dealt with helped too.

Another web-marked message had appeared with details for an alien weapon deal. Max was able to call over his superior, as he had been instructed to pass on the message. 

The information was passed along quickly this time, and a team of agents were assigned to stop the deal and collect any information they could. 

Yeah, Max thought as he later looked at his new office, Spider-Man was definitely his favorite hero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, Miles Morales get a cameo. Why? 
> 
> Because why not.


	19. Waiting For a Ferry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter prepares for he deal on the ferry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is gonna be a short one. Sorry guys.
> 
> According to Facebook today is 'national read a book day' so happy reading to all!

The night before the deal was set to take place, Peter couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong. He had tried to believe the FBI could handle the situation. Instead, a buzz at the back of his neck seemed to think he needed to be on that ferry, despite already handing it off the pros. 

So, with the buzz in mind, Peter approached May.

“Hey, Aunt May?”

May looked up from her dinner (takeout, because she had burned the original plan). “Yeah, sweetheart?” She gave a gentle smile to encourage him, despite his nervousness.

“Well, I know you have a couple shifts tomorrow, but I was wondering if I could take the day off school. The stress of everything is driving me crazy.”

May’s gaze softened even further. “I don’t see why not. I won’t be home till about four though, will you be alright on your own?”

“Yeah, I think I’m gonna take the day to just get away from it all. Just turn off my phone and walk around one of the parks around here. Maybe I’ll go over and explore Central Park, it’s been a while since I went there.”

May got up and pulled Peter into a hug. When she pulled away, she looked him in the eyes. “Alright, I’ll let you have your peace and quiet, but please try to be home before five. I want you all cleaned up before dinner.”

“Alright, May.”

That night, after May had gone to sleep, Peter prepared. 

He packed his suit, his web shooters, and some bandages for just in case. He charged up his phone so that it would be ready for him when everything was done. He went over his plan with Karen, and made sure he had everything (she had to remind him that his mask was still sitting on his desk and wouldn’t be much use there). Once that was well and over with, Peter, for once in his teenage life, went to sleep at a reasonable hour.

\--------------------

By the time Peter woke up in the morning, May had already left for work. She left him a note reminding him to be home by five, and wishing him a good day.

The young hero got himself some breakfast and set off towards Central Park. Once there, Peter made his way to a secluded area he had found once as Spidey, and changed. When he was in his suit and his things were secured in the bag, he shoved it in a small opening between a couple boulders. 

He felt kind of bad about lying to May like this, but he knew it had to be done. 

Next stop, the Staten Island Ferry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is short, guys. I was going to do the ferry scene in with this chapter, but I want to do it well, and I’m having a hard time with it, so you get it next week.
> 
> P.S. I just chose Max the FBI guy’s name at random; I have no plans to make him into Electro. Have fun speculating over my motives though.;) It makes me seem like a much better writer than I am!


	20. Peter's Ferry Bad Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When things are coming apart, Peter tries to keep it together. 
> 
> Literally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my lovely readers. tw; bit of blood
> 
> I don't mention it often, but I do not own anything Marvel as much as I wish I did. Also, I use a couple exerts from the script in some chapters.

Once his backpack had been stored, Peter made his way to the ferry. 

The journey took less time than expected, and Peter got to the boat a bit early. He made sure no one was looking before crawling onto the side of the boat. From his vantage point Peter could see through the windows into the ship. People were still loading on, so the hero kept his head down to avoid detection.

Peter knew that the Vulture would be on the boat. Or maybe just his men. But Peter hoped they could catch the Vulture there.

As the boat started moving, Peter got comfortable. He knew that the FBI had been alerted to the deal, so he had nothing to worry about….right?

——————————

Agent Gibbs looked around the bustling boat that he occupied. He considered this entire pursuit to be stupidity. Just because some wannabe superhero said that someone was going to sell illegal weapons did not mean that it was going to happen. He knew that he would be bored for a while; after all, he and five other agents could handle any possible disturbance.

Gibbs was leaning back in his seat when he noticed a man looking around suspiciously before exiting the cabin. Figuring he had nothing better to do, the agent followed the suspicious man. The suspect led the agent down to the cars. Waiting by an old truck was another grizzly looking thug. 

The FBI agent cursed as the waiting man lifted the tarp covering the bed of the truck. Underneath was a multitude of glowing technology that definitely did not look friendly- or legal.

Sadly, at that moment another agent passed in a patrol, and the thugs noticed. The man showing off the weapons pulled out a walkie-talkie and began talking rapidly, while the other backed up out of sight between the cars.

“Oh boy,” thought Gibbs, “this isn’t going to go well!”

——————————

A few moments into the journey, Peter saw two people hurriedly leave the cabin, so he launched his drone to follow them. He watched as one got into a deal and the other (FBI dude, if Peter’s guess was correct) watched from afar. When the deal was interrupted by another agent walking in, the seller whipped out a walkie-talkie and started talking quickly. 

The agent started his approach before the men even had the walkie-talkie put away. Peter would’ve paid attention to what they were saying, but instead a man in the cabin caught his attention. The man wasn’t much to look at. He was mostly bald with a few gray hairs on the sides of his head and he was tan, but nothing really stood out about him. But Peter trusted his instincts and followed the man as he descended toward the conflict.

Peter kept out of sight as he observed everything.

A couple people had joined agent-dude in his confrontation. The dealer was blocking their way to the weapons stash. The buyer was edging towards the exit. The man Peter had followed slipped into a different car. 

Suddenly chaos broke out.

Everyone involved suddenly drew their guns, and the Vulture burst out of his hiding spot. The winged man swept over the weapons and nabbed a gun that glowed purple. The thugs joined him as he went towards the back of the boat. The agents tried racing after the bad guys, but were stopped by blasts from the Vulture’s gun and a sparking glove on one of the thug’s hands. The FBI agents returned fire, but their government issue guns had nothing on the alien tech. 

Peter stayed in the background, dodging shots and catching anyone who was in danger of being pushed off the boat. He even managed to taunt Mr. Shocky-glove into getting his weapon stuck in some fencing. 

The battle was going well, and it looked like the only perp who was having any luck against the agents was the Vulture, but then everything turned turtle. 

A shot from one of the FBI agents hit the brightest part of the glowing weapon, and the Vulture dropped it. Random bursts of energy from a busted core launched the gun around, before it settled in the center of the cars. 

Peter felt a collective sigh of relief come off all the gathered agents. Sadly, that relief was short-lived. As suddenly as the machine had stopped, it burst into an array of purple light. Going through the center of the ship, the light show seemed to burn through anything it touched. Then the machine cut off, the whole thing dimming.

There was screams coming from the upper deck and yelling from the agents down below. Spurts of water began shooting through the floor of the ferry, soaking all the cars and pushing them out of the boat. The damage that really caught Spidey’s attention was the ceiling above the cars. It had started splitting. 

Peter hastily climbed to a better vantage point and sure enough, the boat was splitting down the middle. Everywhere he looked, there were panicking civilians and burning metal. 

The sudden fearful silence shook Spidey out of his reveling and got him back to work. 

“KAREN! Give me a scan of the boat and target all of the strongest points!”

Scrambling to the gap, Peter’s display glowed where Karen had found decent structure.

Peter paused.

He took a deep breath.

Then he launched into action. 

He jumped into the ever growing chasm, throwing webs from side to side. Slowly threading the ship together while soaring the length of the ship, the hero dodged flames to complete his task. Once the webs spanned the divide, Spider-Man launched another flurry of webs to bind the rest together. 

Peter settled on the bow of the ship, observing his work and looking for any faults. 

“Great job, Peter.” Karen’s voice filled his ears. “You were 98% successful.”

“Wait! Only 98?” His head whipped back to the webs and sure enough, there was one last glowing target on the wall. “Oh, man.”

The previously silent audience burst into celebration. A heavyset man even started yelling “Yeah, Spider-Man!”

Their joy evaporated as the webs began snapping.

“No, no, no!” Peter leapt once more into the void , just managing to catch the end of the final snapped web and sending another to the unattached side. Holding both webs made it impossible to shoot anymore, and letting go simply wasn’t an option. So he held on.

It hurt. Quite a bit, actually. The position he was in wasn’t pleasant in the slightest and kind of felt like he was being torn apart. When the webs started slipping between his fingertips, he managed to wrap them around his hands. His feet dangled uselessly below, providing no support. 

Thankfully, the boat’s occupants stayed still this time. Peter’s gaze drifted over them, slowly forcing himself to ignore the pain. He felt kind of fuzzy, probably a bit of shock, he thought. Looking at the passengers, he realized almost every eye was on him. They looked terrified.

“Don’t worry,” his voice came out strained, but still loud enough to be heard, “it will be alright. I’ll keep you safe.”

It did nothing to stop the stares, but at least most of them seemed reassured. 

Peter didn’t know how much time had passed. He had ended up facing the wrong way to see any approaching rescue boats, so his eyes just wandered the wreckage surrounding him. Eventually, his eyes were drawn to his webs, and he was confused to see part of them turning red. He followed the color back to the source, and was shocked to his hands. It seemed the webs sliced though his gloves and into the flesh of his hand. He watched with morbid fascination as a drip of his blood fell into the churning waters that filled the deck below. 

His eyes drifted back down the line and were abruptly locked with a girl’s.

She couldn’t have been more than five. She had soot on her dress and tears in her eyes. Something about the girl pulled Peter out of his haze once more. 

“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he said just to her, “you’ll be alright. You’ve just got to wait a little while longer.” 

The girl must have understood, because her lip stopped quivering and she gave him a darling little smile. She scurried away towards an overwhelmed mother, and Peter went back to drifting. 

Eventually, the agents who had stopped the deal started organizing people to load onto the rescue boats. The groups slowly disappeared until Pete could no longer hear anyone on the ferry. One of the rescue vessels floated into his view, hosting the FBI team from before. One of the men lifted a megaphone to his mouth and began to speak. 

“Spider-Man. It is safe to let go, everyone is safely on their way to shore. I repeat, it is safe to let go.” 

Now, the agents were likely expecting the hero to climb down and get a ride to shore, but Peter’s brain wasn’t at 100% so he decided that the best course of action was to literally just let go. Thankfully, he managed to drop into actual water, not onto the water-covered boat. He heard some yelling behind him, but was more focused on getting back to shore than whatever they were saying. They could yell at him for not saving the ferry later, for now he attached a web to the back of some boat going back towards the city and drifted along. A bit before shore, he disconnected from the boat and swam the rest of the way. He dragged himself onto the bank and flopped on the ground. 

Catching his breath, Peter bit back a sigh. He didn’t know what time it was, but he figured he had a long walk ahead, back to his stuff. And if he wanted to get back home in time before May worried, he’d better get a move on. 

So dripping wet, with burning shoulders and bleeding hands, Spider-Man made his way towards Central Park. 

And hopefully a long rest afterwards.

——————————

Agent Gibbs sighed. They had finally got the last boat back to shore and the report all written up for the superiors, so he could finally relax for a moment. Not a single life had been lost today, despite the amount of property destroyed. It was all thanks to Spider-Man.

No one really knew why he was there even though the FBI were already on the case, but it was a miracle that he was. The hero had managed to literally hold the boat together as everyone was evacuated. That took guts…and grit.

No one had seen the Spider since the man had fallen onto the water.

Gibbs could only hope that the guy would be alright. Besides, as long as no one got hurt, dealing with the hero would be a lot better than paperwork.


	21. A Time For Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter gets home from the ferry late and May freaks out a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Caution, my dudes, this is a bit sad. My editor (beta reader? difference?) was reduced to tears but that may just be them.

Peter managed to get back to his things without being seen.

It had taken some close calls and Karen guiding him through her waterlogged speakers, but he got to the park.

His arms shook from the phantom strain of the afternoon’s efforts. Instead of webbing to the opening, he took his time to walk and climb. Even the thought of using his webs at the moment nearly made him cry.

Pulling his pack out of the opening, Peter eased onto the ground. Wary of his damaged hands, he pulled out his first aid kit. He took his time with a liberal amount of wipes, and cleaned the cuts as much as he could. Then he took the bandages from the pack and wrapped them around each palm. It would hurt for a few days, but no one would be any the wiser.

Ignoring any other injuries he had (and there were at least a couple he noticed already), Peter pulled on his clothes and checked his phone. Dang. He was late. 

Groaning, Peter tossed everything back into the bag and started climbing out of his hidden alcove. He walked through the park, trying not to look too dead/homeless/mentally unstable. It was a bit of a hike, but he was able to get to the nearest metro station. He found the schedule for the train he needed, and the next one would be there in a couple minutes. Finally, some luck. He loaded aboard the train with the rest of humanity and was lucky enough to snag a seat. A couple transfers later had him hopping off at his home station.

Peter’s feet dragged as he climbed up the stairs and down the hall. His fingers fumbled for his keys before he managed to get the door open. He slid through the opening, closed the door, and let out a deep breath. It was good to be home.

————————--

May huffed as she got home. 

She knew something was going on with Peter, but the boy just wouldn’t talk to her. Now he was late getting back. 

The woman had been thrilled when Peter asked her to stay home. It wasn’t often he asked for anything. He was such an independent child and with her job, May didn’t get to spend nearly enough time with her nephew. 

Things had been hard since Ben died. 

Peter snuck out at night and came back hurt, but was usually fine by the next time she saw him. She didn’t know what to do. 

She got home from work early in an attempt to surprise him, but he hadn’t returned yet. So she waited. 

And waited.

And waited a bit more.

At one point, she almost called the police, but eventually calmed herself. May knew that Peter could take care of himself and that he was probably just running late. Right?  
Needless to say, when Peter slipped into the apartment almost an hour after the time they had agreed on, May was a bit worked up.

“Hey.” Peter whispered. He looked terrible. May noticed small scrapes on his face bandages wrapping his palms. That just added to the woman’s worried ire.

“It’s been an hour. An HOUR, Peter. I nearly called the police. Like five times. I was so worried. And then this ferry thing happens.” The words tumbled out of her mouth like an avalanche.

Peter walked to his Aunt and stood in front of her, not quite meeting her eyes. “I’m fine.”

May scoffed in disbelief. “Your hands say otherwise.”

“May,” Peter placated, “I’m fine. Honest. Just relax. I’m okay.”

May couldn’t stand it anymore. “You.” She hissed. “Cut the crap. I know that you sneak out at night. That you come back hurt and you don’t tell me. That you spend more time at Ned’s house than you do here. That you nearly died! That’s not fine! Peter, you have to tell me what’s going on. Please. Just lay it out. It’s only me and you.”

Peter’s eyes filled with tears as his Aunt reamed into him. 

His voice was small as he began to speak. “It is all too much, May. No matter what I do, I just keep messing things up. I couldn’t get that internship. Washington blew up. Ben...” Peter broke off with a sob. “Ben is gone and I didn’t save him. I was right there and I did nothing. I stood there like a scared little kid. I should have done done something, anything, to save him. Now he’s gone and it’s my fault. I’m sorry, May. I’m so sorry.”

May’s heart broke at her nephew’s words. He had been living with THIS on his chest? That would never do.

“Peter, sweetie, look at me please.” The boy’s red rimmed orbs met her own as she pulled him onto the couch with her. “Peter. Ben’s death was not your fault.” Seeing he was going to interrupt, she plowed on. “My husband loved both of us very much, and there is no doubt in my mind that if he was given another chance, he would do the same thing. He loved you so much, Peter. It isn’t your fault that he was willing to protect you. It’s a choice that everyone has to make for themselves, what they’re willing to sacrifice for, and his family meant everything to my Benjamin.”

“But I should have done something.”

“You could have. And maybe if you did, you would have gotten killed instead. Maybe both of you would have died. Darling, leave the what if’s behind, they offer us nothing. Yes, losing Ben was sad and we’ll do our best to remember him, but that shouldn't stop us from living. Love is what makes life worth living. We just can’t forget what we have because we lost him. You and me, Peter, we’re all each other have. We can’t stop living now.”

Peter’s face was stained, but he let a smile grace his face for his loving aunt. “Ben was always saying that love is what makes us human.” His smile slipped a bit. “He always seemed to know what to say. To do.”

May saw something flash in Peter’s eye at his last comment but decided not to pursue it for now. Instead she started laughing, much to Peter’s bafflement. 

“Sorry, sweetheart, but there is no way my husband always knew what to do. He had his moments for being profound, but most of the time he was a mess.” Seeing Peter’s wide eyes sent her into another giggle fit. “Did he ever tell you the story of his proposal? It was a disaster! ‘Til the day he died, he blamed it on your “Parker luck,” or whatever you boys call it.” 

For the rest of the night, the last two Parker’s huddled together on the sofa, reminiscing about those lost, and taking comfort in just not being alone. 

——————————

Peter knew that it would be a while before he was really okay, but he was getting there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S. at some point some people commented that I needed to link my "business" stories together, so I added a link to the end of the first on to the second because I couldn't figure out how to make them into a series. I know. oof. 
> 
> Thanks readers and sorry for the late night post!


	22. Ned is the #1 Spider-fan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned is wholesome and Peter is a sad boi.

After a night crying on the couch with May, Peter was ready to go back to school.

The day passed along normally until lunch. Up to that point, Peter had been able to avoid any of Ned’s spider-based questions, but with lunch there was no excuse not to answer. 

It wasn’t that Peter didn’t want his friend to know what had happened. Peter just didn’t want to talk about it in general. Knowing the people of New York, they were probably ticked that he had wrecked their boat, even if he had been trying to save them. For that reason, Peter had turned off all news notifications on his phone and ignored it on the TV. There was no point in depressing himself by watching it. 

Besides, does the world really need Spider-Man if he can’t even save a boat without sinking it?

Sighing deeply, Peter caught Ned’s eyes again and bemoaned the intense concern in them. 

This was going to be a long lunch.

\--------------------

Ned had gone to school the day before, knowing that his best friend was walking into an actively dangerous situation. And yeah, someone could reason that Peter did that every time he went on patrol, but this time felt different. Peter could get really hurt. 

Ned managed to get through school (and he even payed attention a bit too), but hardly contained his worry. It had been a bit past 11 when the news blew up that the ferry had been torn apart. A few minutes later came the first report that Spider-Man was the only thing keeping it together. It was even later when it said that Spider-Man had disappeared. Finally, it was late at night when Peter texted him that he was alright and they would talk at school.

So after all that patient waiting, Ned was annoyed as Peter deflected his questions during classes and breaks. 

Ned managed to corner the hero during lunch and hauled him into an empty classroom to chat. 

“Peter! What the heck man! I was so worried yesterday and now you’re avoiding my questions. What happened? Did the FBI not come? Was the Vulture there? Did you really hold the boat together with your bare hands?” Ned rambled out questions nonstop til he chanced a glance at his best friend’s face and let his mouth clamp shut. 

Sometime during Ned’s word vomit, Peter started to look tired. Not I-went-to-bed-late tired, more like life-worn-pessimist-who-just-saw-their-dog-die. Whatever happened must have been rough.

“Pete?” Ned questioned, gentler. “Tell me what’s up dude.”

A heavy sigh fell from Peter’s lips. “Alright, Ned. Sorry for avoiding your questions, but I really just don’t want to deal with this crap right now. And to answer your questions: yes, the FBI came; yes, the Vulture was there; yes, I held the boat together, but I used webs too, not just my hands. Basically, the feds interrupted the deal and the Vulture swooped in. While the guys were shooting at him, something went wrong with the alien tech, so the Vulture tossed it onto the boat and flew away. Then the gun blew up and split the boat in half. I held it together till everyone got off and then I headed home.”

Ned was in awe that his life was weird enough that that story even made sense.

“Dude! Why wouldn’t you want to talk about that? It’s an awesome story!” Ned was practically vibrating where he stood. He was so amazed by his friend’s coolness.

“Ned,” Peter interrupted his train of thought, “did you forget the boat was destroyed? And this is New York. The people here aren’t exactly forgiving.” Peter’s hand dragged down his face. “I’m can’t even bring myself to look at the news, cause I know that people have finally noticed how much of a mess up I am.”

Ned was officially shook. His lovable, dorky, genius best friend was an idiot. Sure, Ned got where he was coming from; the Avengers were constantly ridiculed for the damage that happened while they saved the day. But Peter thought that he was a bad hero. Ned could not let that stand.

The teen whipped out his phone and started typing. He heard Peter scoff at the action in the background, but he was a man on a mission. Once he was satisfied with what he found, he pushed his friend into a chair, pushed the screen into his view, and pressed play.

On the screen a newscast began to play.

“Hello, New York. I’m here today giving you coverage of today’s disaster. At 11:05 this morning, the Staten Island ferry was split in half by a large explosion.” The woman indicated the water behind her, where you could see the remains of the boat above the edge of the water. “The FBI were on scene and our reports tell us that the vigilante Spider-Man was there as well. From what witnesses saw, it was discovered that some shipment of illegal technology was on the boat and when the authorities confronted the owner, there was a fight. Spider-Man was seen keeping people from falling off the boat. At one point, the technology malfunctioned and exploded, splitting the boat down the middle. The boat began to split, and it’s only thanks to the neighborhood hero that it stopped. Witnesses say that Spider-Man jumped into the divide and used his webs to keep the ship together. Unfortunately, movement on the boat broke the webs, so the man held it together himself.”

The screen changed. As the woman continued to talk, a picture was displayed. Taken from the edge of the divide, it was a dramatic shot of Spider-Man holding his webs. Suspended in the gap, a willing sacrifice on an invisible cross, Peter saw himself. While the foreground churned with charcoal smoke, the photographer had captured the rescue boats racing out to come rescue them. For a less than stellar situation, it was an inspiring shot.

The teenage hero only refocused on the reporter’s voice when she claimed that she was going to interview witnesses. 

“Hello, I am Kelly Zalit from Daily Today, I was wondering if you could tell us what happened today?”

“Hi, Kelly.” The first account was an older man who looked pretty shaken. “Well, I was on the 11:00 ferry heading towards the island when some purple light goes through the boat and it starts to fall apart. I tell ya, I thought I was gonna die. but then Spidey swings in and holds everything together. It was amazing!” Awe colored the man’s tone. “Did you know that he kept reassuring us? He was holding the entire ship together, but he took the time to tell us that we were going to be safe. That is a hero.”

The news caster moved on.

“He was amazing!”

“He calmed down my daughter.”

“…one of the bravest things I have seen in my life.”

“Thank you, Spider-Man.”

“Thanks Spidey!”

“Good work, Webster.”

“You’re my hero!”

\---------------------

The video was fifteen minutes long.

By the end of it, Peter was sporting rivers of tears down his cheeks. Ned pulled the phone out of the hero’s grasp and tugged his friend into a hug. 

“You are an amazing hero, Peter, and everyone knows it. No one is trying to tell you otherwise. Besides, never mind what the world thinks, you’ll always be my hero.” Ned broke away with a cheesy grin. “So, I take it we’re fixing up the suit at movie night then?”

Peter’s laugh bubbled out of his chest. “Yeah, man. I also need some waterproof tech. Karen sounded like a scuba diver by the time I got back to shore.”


	23. In Need of a Better Babysitter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter meets some kids at the library. Then he meets their dads.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good luck with today's update to this site. I hope it falls when you are not reading.
> 
> Once again, I own nothing, it's all Marvel.

Peter was making good use of the public library’s free Wi-Fi when he saw something wrong.

He had often seen kids dragged to the library with their parents, or the occasional bookworm who actually enjoyed the experience, but not today. Instead, he saw a small group of kids crowded by a shelf, trying to reach a colorful book near the top of the bookcase. Peter wasn’t too concerned until he saw one of the two little girls begin climbing the shelf.

Peter started moving towards the group speedily, which was good, because the next moment the girl’s foot slipped. Sprinting the rest of the distance, Peter extended his arms and managed to catch the falling child just before she hit the ground. Now being stared at by the rest of the children, he carefully set down his squirming burden and started to scold them. 

“What were you guys thinking?” he whisper-yelled. “You should never climb the shelves, it’s dangerous. Where are your parents? Are you okay?” His fretting came to a close as he saw how intimidated they all looked. “Look, sorry for scaring you, but where is the person in charge of you?”

“Jenny left with her boyfriend an hour ago.” The darker haired girl answered. 

Peter wanted to reply, but the oldest boy beat him to the punch. 

“Cassie. You’re not supposed to talk to strangers!” The boy huffed.

“He has a point, ya know.” Peter said, to everyone’s surprise. “Especially when you don’t have someone watching you. You should keep yourselves safe.”

The little girl, Cassie, huffed. “But you saved Lila, so you must be good!”

Peter smiled at the girl’s innocence. “Sorry, Sunshine, it doesn’t always work that way.” The girl looked so confused that Peter knew he had to continue. “What would have happened if a bad person caught Lila? They could have hurt you or taken you away because you told them that you have no one watching you. You really need to be carefully, Cassie.”

The little girl looked down, chagrinned. “So, I shouldn’t be talking to you?” She questioned quietly.

“Not if I’m a stranger. But how about this, I’ll introduce myself so I’m not a stranger anymore and if you want you can join me at my table till Jenny gets back. How does that sound?” Peter looked at the assembled children as they nodded along to his proposal. “Great! My name is Peter Parker. I like science and my favorite superhero is Ironman.”

Four faces beamed up at him.

“Hi, Peter. My name is Cooper, that’s my little sister Lila, and this my baby brother Nathan.”

“Pleasure to meet you all.” Peter said, enthusiastically. “Do you already have a table or would you like to join me at mine?”

“I wanna come to your table Pete!” Lila yelled. 

Peter cringed and shushed her. “Alright, but you’ve got to be quiet. This is a library after all.”

With that point made, Peter helped the kids gather their stuff and bring it to his table. He knew that he was wrapping up the last of his homework (done before 10 at night? Must be a miracle) and that his plan had been to go back to the apartment once he was done. He did still have a super suit to fix. Shaking off that thought, Peter made the decision that these kids were more important at the moment. So he shot off a text to May, telling her that he would be at the library longer than expected, and got back to work. He received the okay (mixed in with a heavy dose of May gushing about how sweet he was).

“So, do your parents know that you Jenny left you here alone?” Peter asked quietly as the kids pulled things out of their bags.

“No, our daddies can’t check their phones while they work but once they’re done, they’ll see our message.” Lila commented, unperturbed.

The kids worked/read/played quietly on their own for a while but then something cracked.

Cooper let out a too-loud-for-the-library type groan and dropped his head to the table with a resounding thud. The other kids giggled until Peter cut them off with a finger to his lips. The impromptu babysitter got up from his seat and crouched at Cooper’s side.

“Hey, dude,” Peter prompted softly, “what did that table ever do to you?” 

He got a muffled snort before the 11-year-old raised his head to look at the older boy. “It’s this stupid math. It doesn’t matter if I can find the stupid x and y. I’m never going to use this in real life anyway.”

Peter chuckled quietly. “While that may be so, you’ve still got to do the work.”

“But I don’t get how!” Cooper was red and Peter couldn’t decide if it was from the boy’s anger or embarrassment. “Ms. Anderson is an idiot and taught us everything way too fast, and I don’t remember anything except it was long and hard.”

“Now, I don’t know anything about your teacher, but I do know a thing or two about math. Do you want some help?” Peter grinned at Cooper’s wildly bobbing head.

The two sat together as Peter gently coached Cooper on how to solve the problems he was doing, until the younger boy was getting though them on his own. Peter brushed off his knees as he stood and slipped back into his seat. He managed to finish the last of his own math homework before his nose caught a whiff of baby Nathaniel. Peter sighed, grabbed the diaper bag and the toddler, told the kids he was going to change the baby, and headed to the bathroom. He managed to get the kid cleaned up in a flash, and the two went back to the group.

When they got back, Lila claimed a spot right on Peter’s lap and demanded how he knew what to do with Nathaniel’s diaper because, “even daddy barely knows what to do, and he’s a daddy!”

So, Peter regaled her with the tale of him learning to change a diaper. On an outing as Spider-Man (not that he mentioned that to her), he had run into a new father trying desperately to change his kid’s diaper, but not knowing how. He had stopped to help and ended up looking at mommy blogs online to figure it out. The guy had been really thankful and had gotten him ice cream after, but Peter couldn’t get the smell out of his mind for weeks.

Lila laughed her way through the story. At the end she just said, “Thanks, Petey!” before hugging him and going back to her seat.

Peter got a couple quiet minutes working on Biology before Cassie got bored and came to him. 

“Do you have something I can draw on?” she asked, with puppy dog eyes on full display.

“No need for the eyes, Cass. I’ve got some paper right here you can use.” Peter pulled out one of his lesser used notebooks and quietly tore out a couple pages (though not quietly enough, cause that stuff could wake the dead when torn in quiet).

“Cool. What should I draw?” 

Peter was not expecting that, so he just said the first thing that came to his mind. “A spider.”

Cassie gave him a look before she started drawing. She ended up with a nice, if slightly lopsided, spider on one of her pages. She asked for a couple more prompts as she drew, and Peter gave them. At some point, Lila noticed their activity and joined in. Each girl trying to draw better than the other caused some adorable glares when Peter refused to choose which was the victor. By the end Peter, was bouncing Nathaniel on his knee and had all the kids (including Cooper, who was trying to seem too cool) laughing as he made over the top commentary about the girl’s art in a funny announcer voice.

The kids settled down after the art competition was done, and had Peter read them stories. They got through a couple Sherlock Holmes stories and the first few chapters of Harry Potter before their dads got there.

Harry and Hagrid had just reached Diagon Alley when two anxious-looking men came rushing into the library. Their eyes flitted over everything, until they locked on the kids that surrounded Peter. The two quietly (not really) rushed to their kids. The blond man started checking over Cooper, Lila, and Nathaniel while the brunet man hugged Cassie.

Peter just sat there awkwardly.

Getting annoyed with all her dad’s fussing, Lila took matters into her own hands. “Daddy, you have to meet Peter!”

Despite his confusion, the chorus of agreement from the others stopped any questioning he might have planned on otherwise. Clint Barton turned to the lanky teen sitting in the middle of their small reunion. The boy’s awkward smile and sweet doe eyes put to rest some of the dad’s worries about some creep hanging out with his children.

“Hello, sirs, I’m Peter Parker. You should really invest in a better babysitter.” The kid’s cheeky smile shocked a laugh out of the Avenger. That was not what he had expected.

“Cheeky. I like you.” Peter blushed. “I’m Clint Barton, and this is my friend, Scott Lang. I take it we have you to thank for watching out for our kids?”

Peter was dazed for a second when he recognized the names, but he managed to pull himself together (momentarily) to respond. “Of course, Mr. Barton, Mr. Lang. They’re great kids, I was glad to help.”

Scott decided to finally speak up. “Well, even if you don’t think it’s a big deal, it is for us. Thank you.”

Peter blushed and gave a mumbled, “you’re welcome,” before turning back to the kids. “Okay, guys. Your dads are here, so I’ll go ahead and leave you with them. Don’t forget, Cooper, ask the teacher about tutors. I’m sure she’ll be happy to help, and if she isn’t, ask a different teacher who you think will help you.” Peter walked a bit away before turning back and waving. He then slipped into the shelves of books and disappeared. 

Exchanging shrugs, the men helped their kids get packed up and brought their stuff to the car, before they went back for one last check to make sure they got everything without the kids to distract them. Once they were satisfied that the only things left there were Peter’s, they started towards the exit. On the way there, they passed the shelf Peter disappeared behind, and were shocked and amused to hear a surprisingly coherent muttering from the other side.

“What the actual heck even is my life? I just met not one, but TWO Avengers but the joke is on you, life! I’ve been watching their kids all afternoon. I didn’t even know they had kids! But they do, and of course I meet them, because this kind of crap only happens to me. It’s bound to happen. But yeah. Wow. How cool? I can’t wait to tell Ned! No, wait I can’t tell Ned. He can’t keep a secret to save his life, and these kids are a secret. I saw freakin’ Hawkeye and Antman at the library, but I can’t tell cause that might hurt the kids. That’s a bad idea. No telling Ned. Nothing should be able to hurt those kids. They must be secret so they stay safe, so no telling. Seriously, what the heck? This is still one of the best days of my life!”

Clint and Scott shared a look. It wasn’t often these days to meet someone who would willingly give up a chance at popularity for their comfort. It was even less often to find that kind of message in such a wholesome package. They had to give it to the kid, he sure was something special.

The two Avengers stepped around the edge of the shelf, and Clint decided to give the kid the shock of his life. 

“You know, we could hear you through the shelf, kid.” It wasn’t even funny how quick the kid’s head twisted to face the archer, and the mortified eyes locked with his own.

Peter didn’t think his face could go any redder as he mumbled “I thought you guys left.”

Looking at the boy, the two men could take it no longer, and burst out laughing. (Peter was wrong, turns out he could go redder).

Scott finally managed to compose himself enough, and turned back to the rather offended teen. “We came back for a last area check. But hey, you seem to have a unique outlook there, Pete. What would you say to watching our kids again sometime? We get called away sometimes, and finding a competent sitter is incredibly hard to do with our career.”

Peter actually looked like an excited puppy at the notion. “I would love to!” 

So they traded contact info, and Peter waved the superheroes back towards their cars. Then Pete turned back to his stack of unfinished homework.

He was definitely not getting to the suit tonight.


	24. Would You Like to Dance?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter asks Liz to Homecoming. Or is it the other way around?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it isn't clear, in the movie everything takes place over like a week but I dislike that so I'm spreading events out a bit more because I can. To quote Adam Savage from Mythbusters "I reject your reality and substitute my own."
> 
> Oh, I also used tiny bits of dialog from the movie for this chapter. 
> 
> Have a nice day y'all.

Peter had had a lot of crazy things go down in his life. Ben dying, a jacked-up spider giving him superpowers, that one day in fifth grade (no one present had mentioned it since).

Needless to say, Peter was almost comically used to the abnormal. This month? Eh, not so much. 

The past few weeks had been giving the poor boy whiplash. Good. Bad. Good. No! Bad. 

Peter was just glad May and Ned (and maybe some Avengers now) had his back. 

Shaking off the thoughts raging at the forefront of his mind, Peter’s attention was drawn to the sign for homecoming hanging from the ceiling. With a sigh, Peter looked down, but it was too late. Now the dance had his attention. 

He knew Ned was going with Michelle as friends, but Peter didn’t know what he was going to do all night. The only girls he really knew had surely been asked already, and it wasn’t like he was prime date material.

He wondered who Liz had agreed to go with. 

(He really hoped it wasn’t Flash.)

Fumbling with the hall pass, Peter looked back to the hall and there (as if his thoughts had summoned her) was Liz.

“Hey.” Liz looked up and Peter cursed his mouth for moving ahead of his thoughts.

“Hey, yourself.” Liz replied twisting to look at her teammate. Her cheeks were a bit red and Peter wondered if she was getting sick.

“I thought you had calc 5th period.” Peter cursed his lack of tact. She could stand in a hall if she wanted. That was none of his business. 

Liz answered his not-quite-question anyway. “I was doing some homecoming stuff.”

Wow. This was incredibly awkward. Quick. Say something, Peter.

“So, uh, how are you…” he trailed off as she looked at him, head tilted just the slightest bit to prompt him further. “I mean, after the monument happened, it was a bit crazy up there and you seemed a bit mad at Abe for missing that questions on Jupiter’s moons. You know, before. I’m going to shut up now.”

Liz chuckled a bit at his ramble. “Nah, I’m all good. Last month, Decathlon seemed so important, but then I almost died.” She took a chance to smile at him sweetly. “And you saved me.”

Peters cheeks darkened suddenly. It wasn’t that big of a deal, anyone else would have done the same if they were where he was. Besides, it wasn’t often that a girl (much less a senior) acknowledged his… well, his anything really. Taking the little burst of pride given to him and running it for all it was worth, Peter began to speak. “Of course, it was a pleasure to save you. I mean cause, not only are you my captain, but also, I kinda… well, I….” He sighed. “I like you.”

The blush coating both their faces would have been hilarious for anyone to see, but thankfully they were alone in the hall. While Liz had a faint dusting of pink, Peter had started to resemble his alter ego with his bright red.

“I know.”

Peter did a double take. Did she just try to reference Star Wars? He dismissed the thought for the more pressing issue. “You do?”

“Well, yeah.” She said with a small chuckle. “You aren’t so great at keeping secrets.”

Peter couldn’t help but smirk a bit at that. “You’d be surprised.”

The two grinned at one another for a bit before a crash from a classroom reminded Peter how long he had been gone.

He gestured down the hall with the clunky pass he held. “Well, I, uh, better get back to class. I guess I’ll see you around? I mean, I would say we should hang out but you seem a bit busy with…” he gestured to one of the many homecoming fliers on the wall.

“Yeah. And I’m guessing you already have a date to the dance.” Peter was hoping he wasn’t imagining her sounding disappointed at that.

He snorted. “I’m sure you’ve seen all the girls lining up for their chance.” For a second, she actually looked kind of crestfallen, so he quit joking. “No, I don’t have a date.”

Liz shrugged a bit. “So, I know it’s kinda last minute and this is supposedly a guys’ choice dance, but I would actually love to go with you.” 

Peter was really starting to worry about how red Liz was getting. She couldn’t get sick so soon before the big night! Suddenly Peter realized what she said and his heart began beating faster. This was his chance!

“Yes! I mean, if you really want to that would be great! Yeah.”

“Cool.” She beamed at the younger boy.

Peter had not been prepared for this. He had steeled himself for his confession to meet an icy rejection and maybe even a slap or something (he really had no idea how girls worked), so he was over the moon at Liz’s actual response. “Really?! I mean, yeah, great. Cool.” He began backing away from this interaction before he could embarrass himself more.

Liz’s smile grew softer. “Cool.”

“Wait, um, I’m actually going this way.” With that, the little spider rushed past his crush and back to class. He waited until he was out of her view and hearing before letting out an excited “Yes!”

(Liz heard anyway.)

\--------------------

On the ride home, Peter shot off a text with everything that happened to a friend and they invited him over for some pre-dance help.

Getting to the apartment, Peter saw May was home so he ran in front of her. “May! Guess what?”

“You met Taylor Swift in the grocery store.”

“What? No!. That would be cool, but no.” Peter’s dopey grin grew at his aunt’s joking. “Liz asked me to the dance!”

May and Peter celebrated by binging The Office while eating ice cream for the night. They even took a break and pulled out Ben’s old suit so it would have a couple days to air out. (During the same break, May tried to Google how to make corsages, and ended up ordering one from a shop nearby.)

Peter went to bed a happy little hero that night, with big plans for the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, I actually had my own homecoming to go to yesterday and didn't get back in time to post on schedule.


	25. Dancing Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wanda teaches Peter to dance and Vision meets him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the 2nd late-posting week in a row. Crap happened.

Peter knocked on the door with a bag in his hands. After celebrating with May last night, he needed to actually learn how to dance. Thankfully, he knew a guy. 

“Peter! Come in.” Wanda Maximoff opened her door wide. “Sorry about the mess,” she gestured to a thoroughly destroyed kitchen. “I was trying to cook, but it didn’t come out right.”

Peter smiled as he looked around. It was a small flat with an open layout. The kitchen was indeed a pigsty, and the living room had all the furniture shoved to the wall. There were simple personal touches scattered around that gave the area a homey feel. It was a nice place.

“It’s a good thing May sent me along with something.” Wanda already looked worried. During their texting she had figured out that half the reason Peter knew so many good places to eat was his Aunt’s cooking—namely how bad it was. Peter just smirked. “Don’t worry, I helped.” 

Peter and Wanda had been texting since the day they met and had become fast friends. Both of them were used to being outcasts (him for his nerdy-ness and her for her past) and found more common ground the more they shared. They also traded love advice, so when Peter got invited to the dance, Wanda was quick to offer to teach him some steps.

“Never mind the food. You came here for help.” She gave a smirk of her own. “So how’s it going with Liz?” 

Peter’s blush was borderline alarming. “Things are going pretty great.”

“Good. Now, I’ve cleared some space in the living room for us to work.” 

Wanda bustled Peter to the open area, seeming quite proud of herself. Peter was just confused.

“Wanda, you only told me you wanted to help me prepare for the dance. What are we actually doing?” Peter questioned the brunette.

“I’m teaching you to dance, of course.” She said it like it was a no brainer, and it shouldn’t have taken him by surprise as much as it did.

“But Wanda,” Peter complained, “I dance fine.” 

“Alright, then show me.”

Peter looked her in the eye and knew there was no getting out of this. Humming some catchy song (he was pretty sure it was called Sunflower... or something like that) Peter started to dance. It was high school dancing. AKA: not actual dancing.

He gave a big flourish as he ran out of knowledge of the song and looked to Wanda. He was so ready to see her in awe of his skills and eating her words. Instead, she was poorly containing her laughter.

“Hey!” Peter pouted. “That wasn’t funny!” 

With his words, Wanda lost it. She doubled over and started laughing so hard that she started wheezing. Peter stood in front of her crossing his arms until she stopped. Only when Wanda looked up at him, it sent her into another fit of giggles. 

“That,” she huffed, “that was not dancing. That was bouncing and swaying.”

“Fine, oh wise one.” Peter rolled his eyes with a smile. “What do you call dancing, then?”

“Hey, don’t take that tone with me.” She snipped back playfully. “I’m going to teach you some ballroom dances.”

“But Wanda! No one cares about ballroom dancing. It’s all just pop songs anyway, and even if there was a slow dance, we just sway.”

“No, you definitely should know the basic steps.” She smirked at his defiant look. “Besides,” she teased, “girls love it when a guy can dance. But if you don’t want to...”

She almost started laughing again when Peter rushed to reassure her that the lessons wouldn’t be THAT bad and he supposed he could do them if she really wanted to. Really, it was too easy with the boy.

“Alright then,” she pulled him to the center of the space, ”we’re going to start with the waltz.” 

The two began dancing. Wanda taught him a few steps from each dance and even taught him how to dip someone within the tango. They went through the waltz, tango, foxtrot, and salsa. They finally decided to take a break after swing dancing and eat the food May sent along.

“So,” Peter said, sticking his meal into the microwave, “where did you learn all this? I mean, it doesn’t seem like you do a lot of dancing with the Avengers.”

Wanda was a bit surprised, as this was the first time Peter had mentioned anything about the team to her. She let a wistful smile take over her face as she explained.

“I learned to dance back in Slovakia before I got my powers.” Her mind drifted over the past. “Back then, it was only me and my brother. We were living on the streets, but Pietro was handsome enough that he was asked out anyway. At one point or another, a girl took him out dancing. He came back and the next time we were bored, he taught me what he learned. Sometimes we would go just outside the building where it was taught and watch from the windows. We weren’t very good, but it was something we both enjoyed.” Her smile dropped. “I went to a couple actual classes after I joined the Avengers, but it wasn’t the same.”

The room was quiet for a moment, each person taking time to think.

“I didn’t know you have a brother.”

“I did. I lost him to Ultron. He was a speedster and took the hit to save a life.” She struggled to smile. “We were twins, but different in so many ways. I’m quiet, but him? He was outgoing and kind and... and actually much like you, Peter.”

Peter was shocked as Wanda’s broken gaze came to rest on him. “Me?”

“Yes. Both of you are protectors. He always watched over me, and you? You seem to watch over anyone willing to accept your help. So many of the places you’ve sent me, people have stories about the good you’ve done for them.”

It looked like he wanted to protest, but the boy kept quiet and allowed her to say what she needed to. That only showed her more of his giving spirt.

“Anyway, we’re both done eating,” she voiced, standing. “We should go over everything one more time to make sure you won’t forget.” 

And so they did. By the time they were done, a man had walked in.

“Hey Vis, you’re here early.” Wanda said, wiping her brow a bit. 

“I came to offer to walk you to dinner tonight and meet this Peter that you’ve been talking to.” 

The man’s voice was a monotone and the glowing stone in his forehead finally cued Peter in that this was Vision.

Wanda guided her boyfriend to the open area. “Hello, Peter, I am Vision. It is nice to meet you.”

“Same to you Mr. Vision, Wanda has told me a lot about you.” Peter smiled at the odd robot-man. “Well, I guess this is the end of the lessons for today. Thank you so much, Wanda.”

“Anytime, Peter.” She turned to Vision. “Why don’t you walk Pete outside? I’ve just got to get ready, and I’ll be out to join you.”

With that, the boys left her apartment and headed out. As they walked, Peter caught Vision glancing at him considerately. Once they reached the elevator, the older (or was it younger? Peter did hear that the guy was only made a couple years ago) man began to speak.

“Peter... might I enquire something of you?” he asked.

“Sure, Mr. Vision… what do you need?” 

“Well, as I’m sure you know, I am not human. I am a combination of scientific works and the mind stone. And while I have access to a wide range of data, I find humanity confusing. Wanda has said you are wise for your age, perhaps you could advise me.”

It was an odd request for sure. But at this point in his life, Peter was pretty used to odd.

“So, you’re just asking for advice on what? Being human?”

“Indeed.”

Peter was silent as he gathered his thoughts. What could he say here? There was no one way to be human. Eh, he always talked better when he winged it anyway.

“If you asked most scientist about that, you’d probably get some speech about our advanced reasoning and opposable thumbs but I don’t think that’s it. Being human is a crazy thing. Everyone is different and yet the same, always changing and evolving. But I don’t think it’s some evolutionary marvel that makes us what we are. No. I think love does that.” His mind flicked over memories of friends and family and those he protected. “We wouldn’t be human without those around us. Loving other people or places or things motivates us. It drives us to do amazing things. And other people loving us does amazing things, too. We’re human because we feel so much emotion over everything. We all love different things and we’re never exactly the same, and that’s perfect. This world is full of so many incredible things, and by loving and wanting and living, we become human in the pursuit of it.” The elevator opened and they walked into the lobby. “So, yeah, that’s what I think anyway.”

Vision nodded. “Thank you for your input, Peter.”

“Anytime, Mr. Vision. If you want, you can get my number from Wanda, and if you have another question I’ll answer it that way.” Peter grinned. “I’m glad to help, but May is expecting me home soon, so bye.”

Peter left the building right as Wanda came from the elevator. She hooked her arm around Vision’s as they walked onto the street.

“Your young friend is quite impressive,” Vision told the woman as they walked. “He is wise beyond his years.”

“Yeah, Pete sure is one of a kind.” Wanda smiled. She hoped he would have a good dance.

The two walked on to Avengers tower for dinner with the team.


	26. Small Talk Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers have an interesting pre-dinner discussion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figure I should say it every once and a while, but I don't own Marvel or any relating supers.
> 
> (Someday soon I'll stop posting late but today is not that day. Sorry.)

Wanda and Vision entered the common room still chatting about Peter. The walk from their apartment wasn’t very long, so Wanda filled the time telling her boyfriend about how they met. 

Scattered around the floor were the other Avengers. Over by the TV, Clint, Sam, and Scott were in the middle of a game of Mario Kart. Steve was in the kitchen trying to distract Bucky from the dessert in front of him so that he could steal a bit. Rhodes was in the corner with Bruce, inevitably discussing science. Natasha had claimed one of the armchairs and was reading novel. Tony wasn’t there yet; his meeting must have run late.

Knowing that dinner would start soon, Wanda and Vison were making their way to the table when the android realized something. “It seems to have slipped my mind to inquire about it, but what was Peter’s last name?”

Something seemed to change in the room, but Wanda took no notice (this was the Avengers, so if you stopped whenever something odd happened, nothing would ever get done). She snorted. ”Of course you forgot. His last name is Parker.”

“Wait.” Looking at the couch, Wanda saw all three men looking at her curiously, Sam even more so than the other two. “Does this Peter Parker of yours have brown hair and brown eyes? Looks like a twelve-year-old but is supposedly older?”

“Yes. I didn’t realize you knew Peter.” Wanda said quizzically.

“Not well,” Sam admitted. “A while back, I was jogging at a new park to avoid a certain show off…” He dragged his eyes meaningfully to where Steve stood, also listening in, “and I managed to mangle my ankle on a root or something. The kid shows up out of nowhere and helps me out.”

“Yes, Peter enjoys helping others out.” Wanda smiled, thinking of the young man.

“Wait, I think I met him too.” All the eyes in the room turned to Steve. “He fixed up my bike when it decided to shut down in the middle of Brooklyn. He was a good kid.”

“Wait, he might have actually mentioned you.” When everyone traded looks trying to decide how she didn’t know if he was mentioned, Wanda sighed. “He sometimes texts me about the people he helps if he finds something funny or cute. And once he sent me a story about helping some, ‘super patriotic senior citizen,’ with motorcycle troubles.” Her words were accompanied with a smug grin at that point. “I didn’t get what was so cool about it then, but it makes sense now.”

Everyone was laughing at that, including Steve. Once it had calmed down, Rhodes started his own story.

“If I’m not mistaken, I met the kid too. The day Tony’s intern blew up the Washington Monument, I took a walk down the Mall to get some food and dropped my wallet. I don’t know how long he had to chase me to give it back. I was jogging myself, and the poor kid looked about one step away from collapsing when he caught up.”

Everyone who had met the boy shook their heads fondly. They had all seen Rhode’s so-called jogging and imagining the little guy running behind him trying to catch up was hilarious.

“Ha!” Clint jumped up from the couch, startling most everyone. “I know him better than you guys!”

“Dude, we’ve met him, what? Three times? We don’t know him that well.” Scott tried to reason with the other father.

“But we’ve still meet him more than these guys so that means we win.”

A cough brought the two out of their mini debate.

Natasha had been quietly sitting, listening in to that point. She was skeptical of a foreign entity with unknown motivations that could be a threat to her fam-team. She would have to investigate later, but for now she needed all the facts.

“So,” She purred, forcing Clint to shut up or face the consequences, “how did you two meet this kid?”

Clint looked excited to tell the story but Natasha glared him into silence and turned to Scott.

“Well, Clint and I had to go on a mission, so we left the kids with a babysitter, right? So, when we get back, we checked our phones and apparently the babysitter had dumped them at a public library and ran off with her boyfriend. As soon as we got home, we went to the library, only to find Peter watching our kids. Apparently, he had noticed they weren’t supervised and decided to help out. Now, whenever we need a babysitter, he’s our go to guy. It saves tons of time when we’re suddenly called away.”

Clint was enthusiastically nodding along. “He’s even tutoring Copper in math, Nat. He’s a godsend, I tell you!”

Natasha was even more skeptical now. This kid seemed too good to be true, and she wasn’t letting anyone near her niece and nephews without checking them out. But that was a job for another day.

At that point, Bucky finished up with his dessert and called them to the table. The talk slowly shifted away from the young Parker and onto the latest movies and media scandals. About five minutes into the meal, Tony walked in. 

“Starting eating without me? I’m hurt.” He dramatically clutched at his chest but the only reaction he got was some rolled eyes and Rhodes beckoning him over to his seat. “Pepper says hi, by the way.”

The Avengers had a nice team dinner before parting ways, letting their common acquaintance slip to the back of their mind.

Except Natasha. She started planning how she was going to spy on a teenager.


	27. Meeting the Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter meets Liz for the dance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween, y'all.

Peter was incredibly excited.

Tonight was the night of the Homecoming dance, and Liz Allen had asked him! HIM! 

May was driving as Peter fantasized. Finally, checking the address, May pulled up to the house. She was just dropping Pete off, and Liz’s father was going to bring the teens to the school. 

“Okay, we’re here.” Peter jolted a bit and turned to her, a little guilty for ignoring her the whole drive. “Do you have everything you need?”

“Yep.” 

“Flowers?”

“Check!”

“Tie?”

“All tied up!”

“Money for your tickets?”

“Yes, May.” 

Peter was getting exasperated, so May decided to mess with him just a bit.

“What about deodorant?” She smirked as Peter blushed a bit.

“May!”

“I’m joking, I’m joking! You’re ready, but just in case/ walk me through the plan one more time.”

“Open the door.” May nodded. “And tell her she looks pretty. But not too much! That would be creepy.”

“Yeah. Don’t be creepy.” May smirked.

“No. And, uh, when I dance put my hands on her hips.” He said putting his hands in the right position in front of him.

“Perfect. Go get ‘em tiger.”

Peter got out of the car and started towards the house before pausing and turning back. 

He leaned into the window and gave his awkwardly adorable wave. “Love you.”

“Bye.”

With that, May drove away, leaving Peter to make the approach.

After trodding along the driveway to the door, Peter took a breath. He knocked. The door was pulled open by an all too familiar face.

It was the Vulture.

And Ned said Parker luck wasn’t real.

Peter was frozen in shock, but either luckily or not (Peter couldn’t decide), the man was not.

He greeted Peter with a large smile. “Hello, you must be Peter.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m Adrien Toomes, Liz’s dad. Put her there.” The balding man extended his hand and Peter shook it. “Strong grip. Come on in here.” When Peter didn’t immediately follow, he was lead with a strong arm around the shoulders. “Come on.”

Peter found himself being dragged into the kitchen, and the door closed behind him before he could blink. Thankfully, the room held another person to take his focus. 

The woman approached, obviously Liz’s mom, with the same dark hair and a similar smile. “Hi Peter, I’m Doris. You look very handsome.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

The man Peter was valiantly trying to ignore for the moment went to stand beside his wife, putting an arm around her waist. It was odd for Peter to see a man he knew was a super villain in such a normal situation.

“You got his name, right?” Liz’s mom whispered.

“Freddie?” Liz’s dad suggested with a teasing grin.

The woman gave him a light whack on the arm. “Peter.”

“Ah. Peter. Peter.”

Doris chuckled at her husband’s mischievousness and shook her head, grinning all the while.

“Alright,” she announced aloud, “I’m going to go get Liz.”

She left, and Peter was alone with a super villain. And, because Peter wasn’t obviously nervous enough already, Toomes went to the knife rack and began sharpening the blades.

The man seemed incredibly pleased how pale Peter was getting. “You alright there, Pete?”

“Yeah.” Peter would not admit that his voice cracked on the word if anyone asked. But it would be totally understandable if it did, ‘cause that would be an incredibly stressful situation. But it did not crack. Definitely not.

“Because you look a little pale.” Toomes’ voice brought him out of his runaway thoughts. “Want something to drink? Like a bourbon or scotch, or something like that?”

‘Is he trying to poison me? I’m like 14! I can’t even drink that stuff.’ Peter thought before going with the safest reply he could come up with. 

“I’m not old enough to drink, sir.”

“That,” Toomes pointed to the teen with the knife in his hand to emphasize, “is the right answer!”

The father’s smile turned into a dropped jaw as he looked to the stairs. “Wow!” he said, causing Peter to turn there as well.

Liz came down the stairs in a knee length red dress. She was beautiful.

“Wow, wow, wow. Do you look beautiful!” Toomes praised, still gesturing with the knife.

“Please don’t embarrass me, Dad.” 

Instead of promising anything, he turned to the nervous teen. “Doesn’t she look beautiful, Pete?”

Liz moved beside him, but Peter didn’t feel as happy as he would have expected. “Yeah, you look really good.”

“Once again, that’s the right answer,” Toomes commented from across the room, his wife back by his side.

Liz seemed to be ignoring the obvious mood of the room and instead asked about the corsage Peter held in his hands. Sadly, the boy was a bit preoccupied staring at her father, so he just handed it to her. 

After the corsage was on her wrist, Toomes clapped his hands together. “Well, hey, I’m your chauffeur for the evening, so let’s get this show on the road.”

“No, no, no,” Doris interrupted. “We have to get some pictures, babe.” She dragged the two teens into position. “Right here is perfect!”

“Mom!” Liz complained.

“Come on, you two. Peter, closer.” Peter moved closer. “Now smile! There you go.” Doris seemed pleased with the pictures, even if Peter still looked like he was watching a ghost off camera. Liz broke the boy’s hold and went to check the pictures.

“Sir,” Peter tried, “you don’t have to drive us.”

“It’s no big deal. I’m going out of town, and this is right on the way.”

“He’s always coming and going.” Doris commented, still standing with her daughter. “Have fun.”

“Promise.” Toomes replied.

“He’s cute.” Doris whispered to Liz, only to be quickly shushed.

Toomes wandered back to his wife’s side. “See you in a couple days.”

“Bye, baby.” 

The two leaned if for one last kiss and then split apart.

“Come on, Pedro.”

“Bye Peter, have fun.” Doris called with a gentle smile.

“Yeah, I will.” Peter tried to smile but was pretty sure it was more of a grimace. 

Thankfully the drive was relatively stress free with only minimal grilling about safe topics (Peter wanted to be a scientist, he was in decathlon with Liz, they had probably met through that and definitely nowhere else). The peace didn’t last long, though.

“Here we are, the end of the line. You head in there, gumdrop. I need to talk to Peter real quick.”

Liz rolled her eyes, but she kissed her dad’s cheek and left after a quick, “Thanks, dad. Love you. Have a safe flight,” directed to her dad, and, “Don’t let him intimidate you!” to her date.

Once she was clear, the smile fell off Toomes’ face, leaving him scarily similar to how he looked right before the fight on the ferry. He twisted to face the back seat and revealed the small handgun pointing at Peter.

“Look, Pedro. I actually like you quite a bit, you saved my daughter’s life. I could never forget that, but there is nothing more important to me than family. So, I’m going to give you one chance. You are going in those doors. You are going to treat my daughter like a queen. If you do anything to hurt her, well… I will do anything to protect my family. Do you understand?”

Peter couldn’t meet the man’s eyes, so he settled on a dutiful nod.

“Okay then. Have a nice dance, Peter. Show my daughter a good time, but not too good.”

Peter climbed out of the car shakily. As Toomes drove off, Peter couldn’t decide if he felt bad about the tracker he dropped in the car.


	28. Peter's Guide On How To Ditch A Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter make excuses. Surprisingly believable ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter two days late. 
> 
> Writers block sucks. Sorry!
> 
> 'this means thought'  
> "this is speech"

Tonight was moving night. Flash had been bragging about how he was going to get more lab time once all the gear had been moved, and he even claimed that he had gotten to look at some, “freakin’ awesome crap,” before it was boxed up. 

‘Toomes must be planning to steal from the plane,’ Peter realized with a mental groan. ‘One night. I just wanted one normal night.’

Peter sighed and pulled out his phone. The FBI wouldn’t be quick enough tonight and didn’t exactly do well against supervillains, so not them. He knew both Clint and Sam were off who knows where with their families, so that wrote them off for this. Friday had disconnected from all of Peter’s systems a couple days ago when he was worried about the code on some tech he was working on, so she was also out. Thankfully, Peter still had one Avenger’s number. He selected Wanda’s number.

PeterWithAB: Help! My dates dad is a supervillain

He was relived to see her typing a reply immediately but was disappointed by the content.

DirectionallyChallenged: LOL

PeterWithAB: no seriously hes the vulture

DirectionallyChallenged: wow he must have done a good job with the dad talk

DirectionallyChallenged: don’t worry Pete just have fun on your date

‘Okay. Contacting the avengers is a no go. I’ll have to do this myself,’ Peter decided before a thought came to him. ‘How am I going to get away from Liz? I can’t just ditch her!’ Once again, he felt like bashing his head on the wall, but he persisted until he came up with a plan.

Knowing that Ned would have his phone available, Peter shot him a text.

WebDesigner: call my phone in about a minute and just play along plz

GuyInTheChair: k

That was all the confirmation Peter needed to put his plan in motion. He quickly changed the Star Wars ringtone he had set for Ned to a kid’s song and walked over to Liz. Offering her his arm, they walked into the school. Peter paused to buy their tickets (cringing slightly at paying admission when he couldn’t stay). The two of them walked through the mostly empty entry way and were nearly in the gym when Peter’s phone rang.

Liz startled at the unexpected noise and Peter tried to look worried instead of guilty. 

“I’m sorry, it’s the family I babysit for. I told them not to call unless there was an emergency, so can I take this real quick before we go in?” Liz nodded, looking slightly worried herself. 

“Thank you. I’ll be quick.” 

He moved just far enough away that he knew Liz could still hear his side of the “conversation“ and answered.

“Dude, is there a reason why I’m calling you right now?” Ned questioned, the music from the dance coming lightly through the speaker.

“Hey, Jen, what’s going on? I asked you not to call tonight.” He paused to ‘listen’ for a moment. “Wait, what do you mean you need me to watch Jack and Clay! I can’t. I’m at homecoming.” Pause. ”Lydia broke her arm playing Spider-Man?” He emphasized the word just enough to clue Ned in to what this was about. “Okay, but can’t anyone else watch them? Taylor is always up for spending time with them. Or Sam, she usually has tonight off.” Peter fake paused to listen, double checking that Liz was listening in, and when he saw that she was he lowered his voice just a little. “Come on, Jen. I can’t just leave my date, and I’ve been looking forward to this.”

He looked sadly at Liz, knowing that his leaving was all too real, despite not wanting to go. The girl certainly didn’t make it any easier on him. Instead of pouting about how long his call was taking, she looked determined and concerned. She really was a good person. So it didn’t surprise him when she told him to go.

“They obviously need you, besides I have friends that I can hang out with.” 

“Are you sure? I don’t want to ruin your night.”

“I’m sure, Peter.”

His eyes met hers, checking for sincerity. “Absolutely positive?”

“Yes.” She chuckled a bit, “Now go!”

Before she knew what was happening, Liz was swept up in a hug (now THAT gave her butterflies). “Thank you, Liz! I promise I’ll make it up to you. I’ll take you out on a date for real.”

He started to run down the hall toward his locker and Liz called out at his back. “I’ll hold you to that, Peter.” Then she turned and walked into the dance feeling surprisingly okay about being ditched. Especially when she got a date out of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why yes, Wanda's nickname in Peter's phone is a reference to how they met. Peter is just a freaking meme.


	29. Almost to the Action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ned and Peter track the Vulture, Spidey needs a ride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know how originally, I was going to post every Friday? Well, I'm terrible with being on time, so now I'm just saying during the weekend.
> 
> No beta was done on this chapter cause I wrote it so late. oops.

Peter’s feet pounded on the hard linoleum as he ran to his locker. His usual suit was packed away at home but Ned had convinced him that an extra was a good idea. Thank goodness for that. 

Anyway, Peter got to the stack of lockers and used his strength to lift them up. It wasn’t much, just an older version of the suit, barely better than his original homemade one. The mask didn’t have much tech, only an earpiece for talking to Ned, but it was better than nothing. The webshooters only had his basic single web instead of the other types they had created.

Oh well.

Once he had the suit he ran and changed (stuffing his phone and the formal suit under the lockers once he was done because flinging it off as he ran to battle may sound cool, but was wildly impractical, no matter how many times superman did it. Because A) he would lose his suit and B) would be incredibly suspicious to anyone who found the suit pieces).

With his identity concealed, Peter made his way outside. He needed to get… where ever Toomes was going. He slapped his forehead. He needed Ned to guide him! that’s what he had been forgetting. 

“Guy in the chair.” Peter said clearly into the earpiece, thankful they had enough inside to put a call feature into the mask.

The line came to life. “Dude, what’s going on?”

“Okay, really short version is that Liz’s dad is the Vulture and he’s going to rob the avenger’s moving plane, like, right now.”

“Dude.” Peter almost snorted at his friend’s shocked exclamation.

“I know. Do you feel up to Guy-in-the-Chair-ing tonight? I’m in the old version of the suit so no Karen or navigation.”

“Totally. How we tracking this guy?”

“I managed to drop Bug 4 into his car without him noticing. You just need to get the Web Explorer running. You should be able to do it all from your phone.” Peter looked around, hoping for easy transportation that he could use. “While you get tracking, I’m looking for a ride.”

“Rodger that, Spidey.”

Peter smiled at Ned’s exclamation. He really was lucky to have such an amazing friend.

Looking around the school, Peter didn’t see any options. He would need a car to catch up with Toomes. He could try to borrow one of the parked cars, but he didn’t really know how to drive, he didn’t want to damage someone’s car, and he was pretty sure that stealing a car was not hero behavior. If only there was someone willing to drive him. Sadly, the only people still driving up were parents dropping off their kids and Peter doubted that they would want to chase bad guys with him.

“All set Spidey.” Ned’s voice shocked Peter, sending him jumping into the air. “You need to get to a warehouse a bit out of town. Target seems to be staying there for now but you should hurry.”

“Thanks Ned. On my way soon, just need to figure out how.”

“Hey, if nothing else, you can start swinging.” Ned suggested easily.

“You’re right. Which way am I headed?”

“West.”

So, Peter started swinging west. He only passed a block before he saw the perfect ride. He made sure there was enough distance for the car to stop and landed in the street in front of the convertible. The red car screeched to a halt as the two inside looked up at him. Peter kind of hated to use a fan’s admiration (cough*crush*cough) like this but he really needed help.

“Flash Thompson, right?” Spidey asked the dumbstruck boy. “I hear you’re a fan. Could I ask for a favor?”

One dumped date, two autographs, three star-struck rants, and a wildly entertained Ned later, Flash dropped Spider-Man off in front of a warehouse. And Spidey walked in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How come Flash has a car and is always driving around when he's supposed to be 14 or 15? The legal driving age in New York is 16. I am confused.


	30. Walk In Guns Blazing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spider-Man confront the Vulture. He takes it smashingly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!
> 
> And to all non-Americans: a very merry un-thanksgiving to you.

Peter Benjamin Parker was many things. 

Honorable.

Kind. 

Humble. 

Brave.

And incredibly smart.

This is why one might be confused when Peter, after seeing that Toomes was alone in the warehouse, decided that marching right in was a great idea. 

There wasn’t much to the room around them, all the cool monitors and displays were in the room before. It was a musty old warehouse, lacking much to see other than the stairs and pillars. The only thing in the space was a table with a few bottles and a tool box. The Vulture stood there, an old leather jacket in hand, without a care in the world.

“Hey!” Peter yelled, lowering his voice slightly and drawing the attention of a surprised supervillain. “Surprised?”

Instead of Peter’s preferred immediate confession of wrong doings and surrender, Toomes smiled and started pulling on his jacket. “Hey Spidey, I didn’t hear you come in.”

“It’s over, I’ve got you.” Peter stated, trying to sound more confident then he was. “I’m not going to let you get away with this.”

The Vulture’s smile was mockingly kind as he leaned back against the table. “You know, I’ve got to tell you, I admire your grit, Spidey. What you’re doing? Great job! There’s a reason the city likes you. At first I wasn’t convinced, but now? I get it now.”

“How can you do this?” Peter questioned, thinking about the loving family he had seen earlier. They had seemed so perfect and happy. He never would have guessed that the man in front of him would do so much to endanger anyone. “How could you do this to your family?”

The man remained still, but Peter could see his fists clenched around the corner of the table. “To them? No, no, no. I’m not doing anything to them. I’m doing this FOR them.

“Sure.” Thwipping out a strand of webbing, Spidey secured one of the man’s hands to the table. How the man could be so sure that his job was going to help his family in the long run was beyond the hero.

Toomes sighed and looked at Spider-Man like he was a simpleton. “Look, Spidey, you seem pretty young. You obviously don’t understand how the world works yet.”

“I understand enough to know that selling weapons to criminals is wrong!”

“Really, now. How do you think all those ‘heroes,’” he spat out the word like a week-old piece of pizza, mocking the title with all he had, “pay for all their fancy toys? Those people up there, the rich and powerful, they think they’re gods. We just have to do whatever they want. We build their roads. We fight their fights. We clean up their messes. That’s just how it is. But you, you’re Spider-Man. The everyday hero. You’re just like us, a poor man playing hero. That’s why you’re important, even if you have been a thorn in my side.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

Toomes shrugged nonchalantly. “Because I needed you to understand. And I needed some time to get her airborne.” With that he pulled a knife out of his pocket and slashed the webbing.

Peter didn’t have to spend time wondering what he was talking about as the wingsuit, sans driver, burst through the wall, flying at him. 

With a backflip, Spider-Man leapt over the wings. The dust from the mangled pillars around him hadn’t settled before the wings were making another pass. Spidey used his webs to fling himself onto a pillar, but was forced to jump back to the ground as his platform fell to the edge of the machine. From the ground, he watched the wings make a wide circle back. He calculated the timing and jumped onto the top, slamming the machine to the ground. Sadly, the sparks let off the machine were no indication of ability. The machine kept busting up the place in it’s effort to get to the hero.

“I’m sorry, Spidey.”

Another near miss sent Spider-Man into a midair roll before he could stand again. “What are you talking about, man? That thing hasn’t even touched me.”

“That’s true, but I wasn’t really trying to.”

The villain smirked as the wings began plowing through the already mangled supports. With no warning, Spidey was buried under the rubble as Toomes shielded his face. He heard the Mason’s call over the walkie talkie, and seeing the resistance properly dealt with, Toomes made his way outside.

Despite the cement dust coating his jacket, the man took the moment to stare at Avenger’s tower as the wings fitted onto him. The plane was ready for takeoff. It was time for their biggest heist yet.

\--------------------

Peter awoke with a whimper. A falling rock must have knocked him unconscious for a moment, cause one second Toomes was apologizing and now…

Now, Peter felt bad for the ant he squished in Chemistry last week.

Peter tried to sit up, but the movement only barely allowed his hands to get free. To get more air, Peter desperately ripped off his mask, pulling in shallow breaths as he fought to fill his lungs. He could tell he was hurt, probably a few broken bones and more bruises than he could count. “Hello? Hello!” He yelled, even knowing no help was coming. “Please. Hey, please, I’m down here. Please, I’m down here and I’m stuck.” His voice was ragged and hysterical. “I’m stuck. I can’t move. Please, I can’t…”

His voice dropped off, leaving him with only the sounds of settling ruins. A water pipe must have broken because looking to where he dropped the mask, Peter saw his face reflected back at him. Even as discouragement threatened to overtake him, Peter saw his mask. 

Now, it was a small thing. A tiny error you wouldn’t notice if you didn’t know it was there already, but just on the edge of the eye, there was a small mark. Ned had been welding the improved lens when Peter had startled him. The mark was insignificant so it had been ignored. Now it caught Peter’s attention.

Ned. Ned believed in him. He couldn’t die here.

Not to mention everyone else. May and Wanda would freak. Clint and Scott would have to find a new babysitter. Heck, Flash would even have to find a new target.

No. 

“Come on Peter, you can do this.” He whispered to himself. “Come on Spider-Man.” He got his arms beneath him and began to push. “Come on Peter. Come on Spider-Man.” The slabs above him slowly began to rise. “COME ON SPIDER-MAN! COME ON SPIDER-MAN!” On his feet, Peter let out a guttural cry as he lifted the tons of rubble up and off him. With a final crash, the last of the wreck toppled to the side and Peter emerged coughing from the hole.

He reached down to snag his mask from the puddle and wring it out. Pulling it back on, Spider-Man looked to the Vulture waiting on the edge of a billboard. The Vulture’s wings spread as Spidey hobbled over.

Looks like he had a flight to catch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For your information, Ned stayed on the phone as long as he could but just as Peter was dropped off, a teacher saw him "playing on his phone" in the corner and confiscated it to make him "go have fun" or something like that. Other wise he would have been talking to Peter the entire time.


	31. A Day at the Beach is Only a Plane Ride Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final battle between the Vulture and Spider-Man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: this is a fight scene it describes fighting and violence. If you don't want to read a fight scene, don't read this chapter.
> 
> Once again, I own nothing Marvel, but I do use some lines from their stuff.

 

Despite the twinges in his leg, Peter broke out into a run. He could see the wings of the Vulture suit spreading and pushed himself to run just a bit faster. He webbed up to the billboard, but just missed the villain as he took off. Deciding that there was no other answer, Peter shot a new web directly at the Vulture. Without the chance to get his feet stuck, he was launched into the sky, flapping behind his foe.

 

Peter imagined that this activity would be pretty fun if he wasn’t A) injured or B) attached to a supervillain.

 

The wind rushed around him as his ride twisted, likely checking for whatever was slowing him down. Thankfully, the action caused Peter to fling out of his view to safety.

 

“Ah! Woah!” the Vulture rose and Peter couldn’t stay quiet, but the wind swept away his exclamation anyways. The two of them were flying higher and higher up into the clouds, while down below New York grew smaller and smaller. Looking up, Peter just caught view of a plane (most likely the target) disappearing, and he silently marveled over what technology had to be in use there.

 

His awed wonderings were cut short as Toomes went in for the landing. Sure, the villain was able to gracefully swoop down to the bottom of the plane, but Peter was sent crashing into the side of the craft. He bounced without purchase a couple times before finally using his powers to stick tightly onto the aircraft.

 

Peter didn’t think he had ever been so grateful for being able to stick to things.

 

He slowly crawled to the slanting bottom of the plane and saw the Vulture’s wings in some sort of cocoon stuck there. It took even more time to slowly make his way to the wings thanks to some near misses that nearly sent him to the ground, but eventually he was crouched right next to the strange shell. Of course, as soon as he got there, he was shocked by a drone popping out of the thing and zooming away. While Peter tried to open the Vulture’s wings, he felt a change in the plane’s direction.

 

Propping himself against the plane’s belly as best he could, Peter tried kicking the weird shells and was pleased to see them dislodged from their position.

 

He was not so pleased that this apparently led to the Vulture coming off the plane after him.

 

As quickly as possible, Peter moved back to the side of the plane. “How did you spend your night? You know,” He griped to himself, “just fighting my date’s dad on the outside of a freaking invisible jet.” Peter shot a web and ducked as the Vulture used one of his wings to attempt to decapitate him, clipping the panels on the side of the plane instead. “Nothing unusual.”

 

The broken panels sparked against him for less than a second before he was ripped away. It took him about ten feet before he could launch a web back at the plane. The tension pulled Toomes to a sudden stop for a moment, but the panel holding the web ripped away from the plane. The tension disappearing sent Peter spiraling at the face of the incoming plane.

 

 

Suddenly at a standstill, Peter realized that he was falling into one of the plane’s engines. He screamed but was able to get his webs spraying into the moving turbine. He slammed into the propellers only a second before Toomes came flying at it. Toomes angled his body outside the engine, but the wing of the suit was caught. It broke free in a spray of burning sparks, and the Vulture tumbled into the clouds.

 

Peter looked around and was very relieved to see that he wasn’t dead. “I can’t believe that worked!”  Peter celebrated as he found himself curled against web covered propellers. The universe must have heard him, because at that moment the turbine slid out of the plane into open air, held on by only a few webs. Thankfully, it was close enough that he could reach his free hand onto the nearby ledge. Using his legs, he kicked the machine until his hand was free and the engine was spiraling to the ground.

 

He really hoped that would land in the water.

 

Peter scrambled up the ledge onto the top of the plane before glancing behind him. Good thing he did, too, because the Vulture was coming in for another strike that forced the hero to roll to the side. As he completed his roll, he struggled to regain his grip. He was doomed if he slid too far into the flaming propellers behind him, and it seemed the Vulture knew it too.

 

Toomes circled around and slid to a stop in front of the spidery hero, letting the broken bits of plane pelt him viciously. The wings held him in place for a second, but then he twisted, stabbing the sharp edge right into where Peter’s hands were, forcing him backwards. This move was repeated once more before Toomes simply flung his wings out causing Peter to lose his hold again.

 

He was picked up by the wind and sent right to the mouth of the engine, but instead of being shredded, he hit the edge hard and bounced out. He rolled over the length of the turbine and fell off the back. Despite the smoke filling the air, Peter latched another web onto the edge of the plane.

 

Hand over hand, Peter pulled himself back onto the flight and looked forward.

 

The jet had been losing altitude and was now pointed straight at the city. Thinking quickly, he flipped over and sent a new web to the flap on the left wing. He stood and pulled with all of his strength. “PLEASE TURN, PLEASE TURN!” The plane, still flashing from the broken panels, was nearly sideways, but it managed to curve around the buildings. Before he could fully turn the crash to the water, the web snapped, sending Peter falling onto the right side of the tail and the plane towards Coney Island.

 

The left wing of the jet hit the tall red tower as it went down, twisting the rest of the plane away from the rides and onto the beach. Peter held tight to the tail, bracing himself for a rough landing.

 

And rough it was.

 

The first point of contact with the ground was the shack. It was destroyed in an instant. Then, the rest of the plane slammed to the ground, jolting Peter so that he was only holding on with one hand and insane sticking powers. As the front half of the plane kept sliding, the back broke off. When the open end of the tail caught on the ground, it flipped, sending Peter flying through the air.  He bounced a few times before rolling to a stop on the sandy ground. He had never felt so bad for an Angry Bird.

 

Lying on the ground, Peter could hear distant crashing. He reached his hands up to his face and barely stopped himself from pulling the mask off. As he touched his ears, he could hear a sharp ringing. He sat up and saw the fires burning around him. He rolled onto his side and, stumbling, stood. His legs were shaking and his arms felt like lead. He knew that Toomes was out there, but through the smoke, he couldn’t see a thing.

 

Suddenly, Toomes appeared, clipping his already damaged suit on the rubble. He slammed into Peter, sending him flipping backwards before crashing to the ground himself. Peter hobbled to his feet and turned to see the blue sparks flashing off the Vulture suit.

 

“Hey, Spidey.”

 

With that weak taunt, Toomes dove at the hero, forcing him to dive into a roll. By the time he was back up, the Vulture had completed a clumsy turn back to him. As he came closer again, Peter shot a web but it missed. Toomes kicked him to the ground, holding him there, and activated his grabbing talons, which clawed into Peter’s chest. Peter’s scream came out muffled though his torn mask. With the hero held in place, Toomes used metal gauntlets to repeatedly punch him in the face, till Peter caught his hand.

 

Unable to hurt him with his fists, Toomes took to the air, pulling Peter up with him.  Peter used the distraction to break the Vulture’s claw that held him. As he fell, he launched a web onto the Vulture’s foot and used the rebound to launch himself above Toomes, hitting his face on the way up. On the way down, Pete grabbed the top of one of the wings, letting the spiral slow the fall and damage the wings further. A twist from Toomes flung peter to the ground.

 

Peter had no chance to even roll over before Toomes came from above, bearing down on him again. He used his claws to lift and crush Peter repeatedly before dropping him to the ground. Peter flopped to his back before Toomes stabbed through the extra fabric on his costume to lift him up.

 

Peter figured that this was how he died, and he let his head fall to his chest. He really wished he could have said goodbye.

 

Suddenly, he was dropped.

 

Peter felt the air swirl as Toomes flew over him, but only found the energy to look up when he heard the suit’s claws activate and latch onto something.  He was greeted with blue sparks flowing from all over the Vulture suit. It was going to blow. The suit was going to blow up and Liz would lose her dad. That. Could. Not. Happen.

 

“Your wings! Your wings are going to explode!” despite his pain, Peter raised his arm and shot a web to the box. The force jolted him to his feet as he tried to hold a villain back from ruin.

 

Toomes turned to face him. “Go back home Spider.”

 

“I’m trying to save you!” Peter fell back as the web was cut by one of the wing’s blades. On the ground, he watched as the sparking got worse and tried to shoot another line. Either he was out of web fluid or the shooter was jammed, either way no web was launched and Peter laid and watched the wings die. He covered his head from the explosion so he didn’t see Toomes fall, but he did hear it.

 

New flames were covering a section of beach. “No.” Peter forced himself up. “No!” He raced into the burning heat towards where Liz’s dad would have landed. Thankfully, Peter was able to find him pretty quickly. He was trapped under the scorching metal of his flight suit. Peter couldn’t hold in his scream as he touched it, but he wouldn’t give up. He took a deep breath and, with his hands burning, lifted the metal. As soon as the rubble was out of the way, Peter carried Toomes to safety.

For a moment Peter stopped to look around. Toomes, a villain but a dedicated dad too, laid unconscious by his side. The beach was destroyed. There were boxes and plane parts and fires. But when he turned around, Peter saw his city. The buildings were standing. The lights were shining. The people were safe. Coney Island shone with the the same spirit as always. Peter loved his city. For the good and the bad.

 

After his short break, Peter started sorting through the wreckage. As quickly as he could with his injuries, he gathered all the boxes from the plane and hauled them into a stack. He knew someone with the Avengers would be coming soon, and he really just didn’t have the energy to deal with their questions tonight. Once he had all the cargo stacked, he took a scrap of paper and a marker he found, and he wrote a note. He then propped Toomes against the cargo, webbed everything up, and stuck the note to the webbing.

 

Peter sighed and clapped his hands. “Now, to get cleaned up and go home!”

 

\--------------------

 

A SHORT TIME LATER

 

Harold “Happy” Hogan pulled up to Coney Island with a group of local police, SI staff, and FBI agents. Their transfer plane had crashed, and this was going to be a heck of a lot of paperwork. No one really knew what why the plane went down, or why it was so far off course in the first place, but Happy was here to find out.

 

Now, Happy had expected some mistake sending the plane down. Someone was clumsy while loading and didn’t want to own up to breaking something so they hid it. Simple explanation.

 

What he was not expecting was a stack of crates, a man tied (no, not tied, STUCK) to them, and a note.

 

FOUND

\-----------

FLYING VULTURE GUY

SPIDER-MAN

P.S. Sorry about your Plane

 

When Happy lifted his head to look around, he missed a red and blue figure watching the scene from the top of the cyclone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, for the long wait for this chapter. I am easily intimidated by writing and writers block didn't help at all. Thank you all for always asking for more, it eventually got me off my behind. Sorry if this chapter isn't everything you wanted it to be but this is what I've got. Happy Valentines day (soon) to anyone who celebrates it. And if you don't have someone to share it with, go treat yourself anyway, you're valid.
> 
> I apologize for the long notes, but have a great day!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my readers; I hope you enjoy the story.
> 
> And to my fellow writers, I would not be writing without you and your amazing works. Thank you.


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